Loop 5 Shopping Center

Distinctive, accessible, and unmistakable - these were the key concepts to be incorporated in the design of the new shopping center in Weiterstadt called Loop 5. With 100,000 square meters GFA, it is one of the largest shopping centers in Germany, situated next to the A5 autobahn between Frankfurt and Darmstadt at the Weiterstadt exit. The shopping center and its adjoining parking garage feature more than 58,300 square meters of leasable space, which is comparable with that of the downtown consumer and recreation area, as well as a unique amusement park inspired by the theme of aviation. It ist a new destination for the 700,000 residents of the surrounding communities. With its dimensions of 320 by 150 meters, the building complex consists of a shopping center comprised of two full floors, a basement, and an eight-meterhigh, recessed staggered floor with nine parking levels that accommodate 3,000 cars. Both construction elements are connected by a supply street on the lower floor and bridges above, and are unified in a coherent architectural form by the rounding off of the building corners and the continuous running façade. In terms of their construction method, both buildings are characterized by a high degree of prefabrication - the shopping center in its use of finished concrete parts, and the parking garage in its steel structure. The shopping centers external appearance is derived from the concepts of velocity and a jewel box. The rhythmically raised, sand-colored slabs of the facade expose to view the permanently changing, recessed, colored levels of the building envelope. With the vertically arranged facade slabs being of different widths, the dynamic course of the outer façade surface suggests the notion of velocity, while the colored joints provide a sensual reference to precious stones nestled within a jewel box. The design culminates in a crown-like top of perforated metal that is animated day and night by a twinkling play of light and shadow.