Landesgirokasse at Hoppenlau Cemetery

Stuttgart, Germany

Landesgirokasse at Hoppenlau Cemetery

Stuttgart, Germany

Two distinctly different sections of the city of Stuttgart overlap within the planning area: Stuttgart Mitte and Stuttgart West. Plans for a new complex for the Landesgirokasse bank building responded to this particular situation. Such a convergence point would have been a suitable location for a landmark, and would certainly have satisfied the wishes of the client for a prominent and striking building.

Seidenstraße, where the new building would have been located, is structurally intact; it would have been stabilised by a perimeter block building. The buildings lying on the opposite side of the street, as well as those adjoining to the south, lacked any common orientation nor indeed shared any common proportions. The Seidenstraße facade of the new building respected these givens.

Two building volumes were arranged perpendicular to Seidenstraße perimeter block. The southernmost of the two was planned as a higher structure, running along the axis of Kriegsbergstraße and clearly visible from afar. A distinct ensemble was envisioned for the area surrounding Hoppenlau Cemetery, one capable of integrating the various heterogeneous elements, such as the cemetery itself, a nearby Congress Center, the bank building, etc.

The building’s external appearance was to make an open impression, both bright and friendly. Light metal, glass and – to Seidenstraße – natural stone cladding were to define its appearance.

  • Location

    Stuttgart, Germany

  • Client

    Landesgirokasse Stuttgart

  • Architect

    Behnisch & Partner, Büro Reithalle

  • Design

    1990, stopped

  • Competition

    1989, 1st prize