The Wagenhallen The former locomotive sheds, erected from 1895 onwards, damaged in World War II and used as a bus depot until 2003, became a renowned cultural location in Stuttgart, consisting of an event and concert venue, a "Kunstverein" (art society) and a dance school. The venue was completely refurbished and preserved as an attractive cultural location. The original floor plan of the Wagenhallen was peeled out of the conglomeration of structures from several eras and the original substance of the building was carefully restored whilst retaining existing surfaces. The original load-bearing steel structure could be preserved, but the roof and the shed windows needed replacing. All technical equipment was replaced to current safety standards and building regulations. The result is a state-of-the-art cultural building, which spatially provides independent infrastructures for the 3 functions and design wise documents the history of the building in an understandable and tangible manner.
Three functional areas The cultural event venue “Kulturbetrieb” covers a total space of 4.000 sqm and can be divided into separate spaces to function as an event venue to host concerts, commercial events, presentations. It can host up to a maximum of 2.100 standing visitors and 1.050 seated. The flexible partition walls allow for a varied use of the spaces and also have an acoustic function. Newly built structures were placed into the space as stand alone units to accommodate wardrobe, kitchen, storage and sanitary installations. These units are clearly separated from the historic structure, showing they are added new elements. The “Kunstverein” (Art Society) consists of a total floor space of 8.400 sqm in a large central hall. A new building of 1.100 sqm was added and placed separate of the historic substance. Spatially, the floor programming of the hall space follows the rails that led into the hall and mirror the original function. Individual, stand-alone, units function as artistic ateliers and are positioned in the space like the carriages once were. Each unit is self-sufficient and equipped with water, sewage, electricity and sprinklers. Some units are stacked on top of each other; the top units can be reached by a bridge. Workshops are built in separated spaces in the back of the building and tailored to the needs of the occupants. The tango dance school occupies a separate, autonomous space of 450 sqm.
Concept and use of materials Surfaces and existing materials were as far as possible retained in their current state. The use of colour coordinated brick materials used to add new structures, or restore damaged ones, clearly document the interventions, making the time layers visible and legible and clearly show the history, the scars and the marks to create a story-telling documentation of the buildings Phoenician resurrection.