Riehle+Assoziierte

The proposed masterplan for the Orschelpark in Reutlingen adds two new structures to an existing undulating building in order to create a campus-like ensemble of three buildings. Together with the existing building the urban figures of the two proposed buildings group around a new, common forecourt developed from Ludwig-Ehrhard-Straße. Towards Rommelsbacher Straße the sloping topography naturally creates a linking plinth and presents three hovering building sections with great street presence.

The two new buildings are conceived as a series of clustered, interlocking volumes of different heights to break down the scale of the overall building mass and blend into the existing urban grain. The urban figure of the first building phase presents two, interlocking square forms with central courtyards to generate good daylight conditions for all work spaces.

On the inside the building structure of two rings with identical depths is developed as a skeletal concrete frame with two, crosswise bands of different spans creating a three-dimensional spatial structure of high flexibility and efficiency. The inner logic is defined by spatial clarity, typological stability and structural openness. The language of the building on the outside with slender vertical columns and three dimensional horizontal bands is based on an idea of abstraction by a sculptural interaction of concrete and glass.