Architecture is generally designed for one specific site. The Multipurpose Hall in Dudelange challenges that convention. Conceived by FAT Architects for the City of Dudelange, the building was designed from the outset to occupy two different locations during its lifetime.
The hall currently stands along the Route de Bettembourg, replacing an earlier structure. After approximately eight to ten years, it will be carefully dismantled and reconstructed within the future Nei Schmelz eco-district, on the grounds of a former rolling mill. Rather than treating relocation as a constraint, the architects made it the central principle of the design. The 740 m² project was awarded the Luxembourg Architecture Award 2026 in the category Building Sustainability.
Circularity begins with the construction detail
The hall is built as a modular timber and element-based structure. Its components were prefabricated to a maximum width of 3.5 metres, allowing them to be transported by truck. On site, the elements are connected exclusively with mechanical screw fixings. Permanent bonding and irreversible connections have been avoided so that the building can later be taken apart without destroying its individual components.
A demountable steel structure forms the supporting base. At the current location, it rests on strip foundations; at the future site, the same structure can be installed directly on top of an underground car park. Nearly all building materials are therefore intended to remain in use after the relocation. Circularity is not added as a sustainability statement, but embedded in the dimensions, connections and assembly sequence of the architecture.
A modular system with a distinct architectural identity
Although designed for disassembly, the building does not present itself as temporary. Its dark timber envelope gives the public hall a robust and recognisable civic presence.
The exterior is clad with Takamatsu triangular façade profiles by Zwarthout | Shou Sugi Ban. Made from charred and brushed Douglas fir, the profiles create a finely articulated vertical rhythm across the long façades. Their triangular geometry produces subtle changes in light, shadow and depth as the viewer moves around the building.
The rhythm continues across the glazed sections as a permeable screen, maintaining the coherence of the envelope while allowing daylight and views to pass through. In this way, the repetition inherent to modular construction becomes an architectural instrument: the façade does not conceal the building system but translates it into texture, proportion and expression.
Material contrast between exterior and interior
Inside, pale timber surfaces, visible structural elements and generous openings create a calm and tactile atmosphere. The light material palette forms a deliberate contrast with the deeply black exterior, reinforcing the experience of moving from a protective outer shell into a warm communal interior.
The clear construction grid provides an ordered framework for a variety of activities. Designed as a meeting place for local associations as well as regional events, the building combines spatial flexibility with a strong sense of identity. Its architecture is adaptable without becoming anonymous.
Adaptability as a form of permanence
The project broadens the conventional understanding of longevity. A sustainable building does not necessarily have to remain fixed to one plot; it can also be designed to respond to changing urban conditions while preserving its materials, architectural value and function.
The award jury highlighted how industrial prefabrication contributes not only to efficient construction but also to the quality of the finishes and spaces. The irregular shape of the original site was used to generate valuable terraces rather than residual areas, demonstrating that off-site construction and architectural specificity do not have to be opposites.
By combining dry construction, material reuse, modular timber engineering and an expressive charred-wood façade, the Multipurpose Hall in Dudelange offers a convincing model for circular public architecture. It is a building designed not merely to last, but to move, adapt and begin again.
