With an exceptional height of 50 metres, this project forms a new landmark upon approaching the city of Constance. Set within a traffic-oriented urban landscape, the exhibition building, which houses a large-scale panorama by Yadegar Asisi, becomes an abstract, three-dimensional image in itself.
The design responds to this distinctive location through the principle of kinetic polychromy. The façade’s geometry and colour scheme appear to set the building in motion. Passing viewers experience it as a dynamic, constantly changing object, depending on their position and speed.
The expressive exterior, however, achieves more than merely drawing attention to the building and its exhibition. It also marks a new urban node that brings together a long-distance bus stop, a park-and-ride facility, a bike-sharing hub, and connections to public transport. In this context, the building serves as a highly visible point of orientation.
The confident outward presence is counterbalanced by an immersive spatial experience within. Visitors enter the ground floor to find a spacious foyer with a café, museum shop and an introductory exhibition providing additional context to the panoramic image. Above this, a cylindrical exhibition hall more than 30 metres high is entirely dedicated to Yadegar Asisi’s depiction of the historic city. At its center stands a viewing tower roughly 16 metres tall, offering visitors various perspectives on the panorama.
Located above the large panorama room are two additional floors. One serves as a flexible space for events or special exhibitions. The top floor features a restaurant and bar. There, at a height of approximately 41 metres, a roof terrace offers a true panoramic view over Lake Constance and towards the Alps.
In this project, a column-free interior space of this size – over 30 metres high and approximately 32 metres in diameter – has been realized in timber construction for the first time. To achieve this, the potential of timber frame construction has been taken to a new level and adapted to the building’s radial floor plan geometry.
The primary structure, above a two-story base of exposed in-situ concrete, represents a special form of timber frame construction. Vertical loads are transferred by laminated timber columns with a
cross-section of 56 x 80 cm and a length of over 30 metres. Horizontally, these are connected by laminated timber beams and cross-laminated timber sheathing to form a circular timber frame construction.
Above the panorama room spans an almost circular composite ceiling made of wood and concrete with a diameter of more than 32 metres - another first in this form. The underslung hybrid construction consists of glued-laminated timber beams, steel tension rods, and concrete.
The precise prefabrication of the timber elements in the factory shortens construction time and significantly enhances quality. The innovative structure greatly reduces the required amount of concrete. In addition, the lighter weight of the hybrid construction requires fewer concrete bored piles for the foundation.
The building envelope is designed as a two-layer construction. The inner layer consists of the timber-frame structure, which also forms the thermally effective shell. In front of this, a second layer of differently coloured expanded metal panels is mounted on a continuous steel substructure. These elements are arranged at varying angles so as to create the effect of a folded surface that shifts between shades of blue and red depending on the viewing angle. This three-dimensional composition lends the façade its dynamic appearance.
The panorama radiates as a landmark in two directions - drawing the gaze from afar while simultaneously turning it outward from within toward the city, its surroundings, and its history. In doing so, it brings new visibility to a previously overlooked area at the edge of the city centre, transforming it into a vibrant urban space and an inviting destination.
