Barkow Leibinger: cultural centre, Boblingen, Germany.Dating from the seventeenth century, the city of Boblingen lies to the south of Stuttgart. Its historic core was extensively destroyed in 1943 by Allied bombing and though in recent years much emphasis has been given to redeveloping its periphery periphery /pe·riph·ery/ (pe-rif´er-e) an outward surface or structure; the portion of a system outside the central region.periph´eral pe·riph·er·y n. 1. , the centre has languished. Finally, there is a major initiative to restore a sense of identity to its historic heart, with Barkow Leibinger (former Emerging Architecture Award winners, AR December 2001) commissioned to design a cultural complex in the city centre. Lying at the town's highest point, the site resembles a small citadel, hovering hov·er intr.v. hov·ered, hov·er·ing, hov·ers 1. To remain floating, suspended, or fluttering in the air: gulls hovering over the waves. 2. above its surroundings and visible from the streets below. This physical prominence was crucial to the architects' ambition to re-establish the city's topographical silhouette silhouette (sĭl'  ĕt`), outline image, especially a profile drawing solidly filled in or a cutout pasted against a lighter background. and re-animate what they describe as Boblingen's 'ground zero'. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Barkow Leibinger's scheme restores, in contemporary form, the city's destroyed fabric. A trio of three- and four-storey pavilions reconstitutes the volumes of the former city-palace and reinstates the pedestrian promenade from Schlossbergstrasse to the old city markets. The existing Mathias church complements this urban ensemble. Conceived as lightweight, ephemeral Temporary. Fleeting. Transitory. lanterns, the three pavilions rest on a more massive concrete podium podium In architecture, a pedestal on a large scale. It may be any of various elements that form the base of a structure, such as the platform forming the floor and substructure of a Classical temple, a low wall supporting columns, or the structurally or decoratively which has gallery spaces and connects the pavilions at lower level. In section, the two gallery levels open up to the north and the former palace gardens. The southernmost pavilion houses a restaurant, offices and a community meeting hall, while the eastern pavilion has a children's play space. The cellar cellar Portion of a building beneath ground level, used for utilitarian and storage purposes. It is often called a basement, especially when constructed as part of a foundation. A cellar used for food storage (e.g. of the palace will be restored and integrated in the scheme. While the profiles of the pavilions recreate the geometry of the historic skyline, their lightweight skins are more abstract and scaleless. Vertical timber slats are sandwiched between two layers of glass forming a layered, translucent translucent slightly penetrable by light rays. membrane, so at night, the pavilions will glow like lanterns above the town. C.S. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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