Extension to Braunschweig job centre
Vorsicht ist, was wir bei anderen Feigheit nennen.
(Oscar Wilde)
The design had to take into account and integrate the existing heterogeneous building fabric (1940/1956). One of the problems was that the old buildings had very different floor heights; they were to be extended, however, to serve functional needs.
Taking into consideration functional aspects and the urban environment, a design was developed which comprised two U-shaped, three-storey administrative buildings opening towards the open space to the west and, together with the existing building, creating an ensemble grouped around a large inner courtyard.
At the same time, the opted-for three-storey construction was not to detract from the older building’s dominant position in the cityscape. The sudden shift of tone in the urban landscape created by the construction of Münchenstrasse and its gateway position on the outskirts of the inner city created the need for definition in the landscape: for structural constriction and the creation of a square.
The project was executed in a number of stages, which included the renovation of the older fabric.
