NEW URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN SHENZHEN BY GMP ARCHITEKTEN

The architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp architekten) have been commissioned with the design of a new urban development project on a 45 hectare site in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

 

It comprises a transportation hub including five underground railway stations, a border control point and numerous commercial areas. Above ground there will be a range of tower blocks of different heights with apartments, shops and offices to form multi-functional city quarters. The new “Qianhai Integrated Transportation Hub” will be intersected by major north-south and east-west transport axes.

The development will feature a variety of urban spaces and a structure with a diverse range of buildings. The tower blocks – with heights ranging between 200 and 280 metres, including one landmark building of 450 metres – form an impressive skyline, and will give this area between the coast and the centre of Shenzhen an unmistakable character.

While the traffic above ground will consist of bus and taxi transport, as well as pedestrian routes, the major function of the transport hub will be below ground – combining underground lines and local and regional train stations – linking Shenzhen with its neighbouring cities.

The site is located in the centre of the new urban development area at Qianhai Bay to the east of Shenzhen. It is part of the new special economic area which is being planned by China in the Pearl River Delta. The intention is to create a new type of finance centre that is directly connected to Hong Kong and benefits from special financial and tax rights for trade in Chinese currency.

In the longer term, the new special economic zone will be part of an incomparably large metropolis linking the already extremely dense agglomeration of Hong Kong/Shenzhen/Guangzhou to form one continuous conurbation.

Location: Shenzhen, China

Architect: gmp architekten

Project Management: Jens Weiler, Martin Gänsicke

Project Team: Clemens Kampermann, George Liang, Johannes Erdmann, Boyan Kolchakov, Cheng Huang, Slava Savova, Amelie Kulassek, Christian Machnacki, Ji Xu, Wei Qin, Zhicong Chen, Jan Deml, Bin Zhou, Thilo Zehme, Niklas Veelken, Jing Xue

Client Shenzhen Metro Group Ltd.

International competition 2013 – 1st prize

STATE ARCHIVE OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH BY GMP

“Today, the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Bavaria is inaugurating its new archive in Nuremberg with a special ceremony. The new building, which was designed by architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp), took three years to build and is located on a former factory site in the direct vicinity of the existing main building.

With 34 kilometres of shelving, the State Church archive now has more than twice the storage space compared to previously and, in addition, accommodates a restoration workshop and enough space for visitor rooms.

In the “Memory of Evangelical Bavaria”, the Church is archiving – amongst many other original documents – letters by Martin Luther and documents by popes and emperors, as well as numerous historically important books and paintings. The State Church archive has been designed to include passive air conditioning of the archives.

The new building consists of two intersecting solid cubes which seem to float above a transparent receding ground floor. The structure rises from a basement floor about one metre high along the road, which develops into full storey height along the downward slope towards the south, including a large terrace which offers views of the Wöhrder See lake.

The ensemble consists of a solitary building sculpture with main facades on all sides. It thereby confines the adjacent Zeissstrasse on the one side, and the garden of the Theological Seminary to the east on the other side. Seen from across the garden, the new archive appears as a continuation and extension of the Theological Seminary.

The plinth of the reinforced steel structure is clad with reddish sandstone which forms a continuation of the existing sandstone wall and anchors the building in the landscape context. The external walls of the archive are finished in a shiny copper facade with a subtle vertical structure. The natural metal surface will undergo various oxidation stages and colour changes until it finally develops a velvety, brownish appearance.

Visitors enter the public areas of the archive via Veilhofstrasse. From there they also reach the lecture hall, which can also be used for exhibitions. This hall faces the corner of Veilhof-/Zeissstrasse in a manner that welcomes the public. The reading room faces both east and west and is located on the quiet garden side. The offices are located above, on two levels surrounding the archive areas, and provide easy access for members of staff to the repository.

The repository areas themselves occupy four floors above the ground floor, as well as the two lower ground floors. Since the first lower ground floor extends out on the slope towards the south, access is available from Zeissstrasse to the workshop and functional rooms.” Description from gmp Architekten.

Location: Nuremberg, Germany

Architect: gmp Architekten

Partener in Charge: Meinhard von Gerkan and Nikolaus Goetze

Associated Partner: Dirk Heller

Project Leader: Karen Schroeder

Project Team: Christoph Berle, Katharina Traupe, Monika Braig

Implementation Team: Christoph Berle, Miriam Bamberg, Judith Saile, Alexander Schnieber, Sui Jinying

Area: 9,327 square metres

Client: Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria

Photo: Heiner Leiska

GMP WINS THE PEDESTRIAN AND CYCLE BRIDGE COMPETITION

The architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp) together with Knippers Helbig, Structural Engineers, have won first prize in the limited implementation competition for the new construction of a pedestrian and cycle bridge across the Baakenhafen basin in HafenCity.

The jury decided unanimously in favour of the design, which was followed in the ranking by two third places for Ingenhoven Architects, in cooperation with Werner Sobek, and R+ Architects, in cooperation with Dr. Binnewies, Engineering Consultants.

The Free Hanseatic City of Hamburg and HafenCity Hamburg GmbH had invited six competition teams of architects and engineers to take part in this anonymous one-stage competition.

The pedestrian and cycle bridge has been nicknamed the “little sister” of Baaken Bridge West and will link the northern neighbourhood around the Baakenhafen with the southern area of the games and leisure island.

As a steel construction without vertical supports, the bridge fits in well with the pattern language of the dominant elements around the Baakenhafen – such as the quay wall, railway tracks, cranes and ships - and thus follows in the tradition of the existing bridges in Hamburg’s harbour and HafenCity.

Excerpt from the jury’s report: “The design succeeds in a surprisingly considered manner to bridge the gap between a compact ‘cable link’ and an elegant pedestrian and cycle crossing. The skilful interlocking of the external sheet metal for the protection of the loadbearing structure, the slightly asymmetrically arranged apex of the segmental arch and the corresponding clever railing configuration result in an aesthetically appealing structure which, at the same time, meets all technical requirements.”

Location: Hamburg, Gernmany

Architect: gmp architects

Partner practice: Knippers Helbig GmbH, Structural Engineers, Stuttgart

Project Management: Andreas Weihnacht

Team member: André Wegmann

Partner: Jan Knippers

Project Team: Roman Schieber, Vera Lerose, Thomas Müller

Lighting design: Conceptlicht, Traunreut

Year: 2013

Client: HafenCity Hamburg GmbH

MARITIME MUSEUM BY GMP ARCHITEKTEN

China’s first ever Maritime Museum is situated on the shore of a five square kilometer artificial lake that has been reclaimed from the Sea.

The 46,400 m² large museum, intended to house an exhibition on China’s naval history, lies in the middle of Lingang New City approximately 60 km south of Shanghai.

This new city development of 800,000 inhabitants has also been conceived by Meinhard von Gerkan, a design that goes back to 2002. In perfect symmetry, two parallel four-storey high wings define the rectilinear plan and the functional layout of the museum quarters.

The museum is organized around a raised courtyard on a one storey high pedestal in which all the functions of the museum are accommodated. From the land and the waterfront side large sweeping staircases lead up to the pedestal.

The rectilinear geometry of the façade design, the arcades and the "air-beams" – all clad in a light-grey granite – literally harbours the museum on the lake shore. The analogy of a ship in a port is developed further in the abstract symbolism of the two "sails" located almost in the middle of the museum square.

The 58 m tall grid shells lean against each other and touching only at one intersection point approximately 40 m above ground. This masterpiece of engineering allows the two-way curved "sails" to rest on only two base points, approximately 70 m apart.

Like a huge fishing net, a pre-tensioned cable net structure clad in glass forms the façade between these two "sails". The enormous cathedral like interior space allows the display of a fully rigged junk.

In the flat coastal topography the Maritime Museum can be spotted for miles due to its expressive silhouette – a feature that will undoubtedly make it one of the most successful landmarks of Lingang New City.

 

 

 

 

Location: Lingang New City, China

Architect:gmpArchitekten

Design: Meinhard von Gerkan

Partner: Nikolaus Goetze

Project managers: Klaus Lenz, Marcus Tanzen

Design Team: Richard Sprenger, Elena Melnikova, Ben Grope, Markus Carlsen

Project Team: Richard Sprenger, Eazy Lin, Jens Reichert, Birgit Föllmer, Udo Meyer

Structural engineering: Werner Sobek

Chinese partner practice: SIADR

Gross floor area: 46,400 m²

Year: 2009

Client: Shanghai Harbour City Investment Co.

Photographers: gmp/Julia Ackermann

GMP ARCHITEKTEN WINS NEW CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL COMPETITION

The design by architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners, with JB Ferrari, for a new children’s hospital at the Lausanne University Hospital has won first prize in an international competition.

The hospital is to provide 85 beds and an accident and emergency unit for children, and is provisionally scheduled to open in 2019. The design concept includes light-flooded open areas with much greenery, which are intended to make a hospital stay as agreeable as possible for patients and their relatives. Today, the entry will be presented to the public in Lausanne.

The future children’s hospital will be located in the centre of the University Hospital on a 180 meter long site on the corner of Rue du Bugnon and Esplanade, which is a prominent location from the urban design point of view. Esplanade is the main address of the hospital. The building has been designed with six storeys, with the main entrance from Esplanade leading in to the children’s hospital, the accident and emergency unit and the care wards.

The underground station in that locality will be included in the overall concept by being built over. The part of the building to the east of the Esplanade will be lower, so that the view from the gynaecological unit would not be obstructed. The main access avenue between this lower building and the gynaecological unit will serve as internal access. The generous, bright two-storey building will accommodate waiting and play areas, with the examination and treatment areas branching off in a comb-like layout.

On the roof of the lower building is the cafeteria, and a public planted terrace offers facilities for play and recreation. Thanks to the topography of the location, the terrace can be accessed both at ground level and via natural ramps; in addition, generous steps will lead from the Esplanade along the facade to the terrace.

The care wards in the six-storey western part of the building will feature a terraced inner courtyard with conservatory, which is intended as a protected outside play area. The location offers fantastic views of Lausanne, Lake Geneva and the Alps.

Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
Architect: gmp Architekten
Design: Volkwin Marg
Associated Partner: Christian Hoffmann
Partner: JB Ferrari
Project Management: Martin Bleckmann, Stefan Walter, Sébastien Zwissig
Project Team: Christoph Salentin, Lukasz Rubnikowicz, Marlen Beckedahl, Flori Jackowski, Stephanie Krämer-Hilke, Steve Cherpillod, Marcella Wurmli, Annick Lavenex
Gross floor area: 39,232 m2
Year: 2014
Client: Etat de Vaud, DSAS, CHUV
Competition: 2014 – 1st prize