#New DFB Campus with central administration and high-performance, conference and education centre
The sports fields and buildings are not separated but arranged along a main axis, which is designed as a communicative link within the campus.
Typology Office building, education and sports centre Constructed volume GFA 56.850m², GIV 370.200m³ Client Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V. (DFB) Architect kadawittfeldarchitektur Cooperation Greenbox Landschaftsarchitekten General contractor Groß & Partner Completion 2019 – 2022 Competition 2015 – 1st prize Awards Shortlist WAF Award 2023, Nomination DAM PREIS 2024
#New DFB Campus with central administration and high-performance, conference and education centre
The sports fields and buildings are not separated but arranged along a main axis, which is designed as a communicative link within the campus.
The DFB Campus with its football fields, sports facilities and new building are embedded in Frankfurt’s city forest on the site of the former racecourse. It is within this green setting with a natural boundary to the surrounding areas that the mixture of structural components, sports fields, small open places and clearings form a joint campus. The required space, including administrative areas, press centre, conference rooms, athletes’ accommodation and state-of-the-art sports facilities, is arranged below a single long-span roof around the individual sports fields and exterior space. The north-south-oriented covered sports boulevard connects all components and facilitates orientation. It has been designed as a communicative link with casual meeting places to watch the activities on the sports fields but also bring together the two independent institutions, administration and academy.
The DFB Campus is like a small city with a communal roof which covers a cluster of different districts. The boulevard that guides members of staff, athletes and visitors through the building is a key feature. Designed as a broad open space, it offers views into all levels of the building and the exterior space beyond the tall glass facades.
1 main entrance 2 press 3 administration 4 conference | catering 5 academy 6 market square 7 fitness | seminar 8 athletes’ accommodation 9 multi-purpose hall 10 playing fields 11 indoor football arena 12 multi-storey car park
The DFB Campus is much more than just an office building. As a repository of knowledge, a creativity workshop, training camp and education centre, it provides space for opportunities, networks resources, implements know-how and promotes young talents.
The boulevard is the main artery of the campus. It runs the full length of the building and forms a link between the individual areas. The fully glazed space facilitates orientation and functions as a communication zone with an inviting atmosphere. Through-out the length of the boulevard, people can stop for a quick chat, watch the activities on the sports fields and easily find the logically arranged areas for administration, academy and athletes’ accommodation. The boulevard is divided into two sections. In the north, it provides access to the sports facilities with the internal functions including the academy, the athletes’ accommodation, exercise rooms, the indoor football arena, a multi-purpose hall as well as a kind of market square and the main entrance on Schwarzwald-strasse. The public representative zone is located in the south and accessed via the main entrance on Kennedyallee. This is where the areas for the administration, press and visitors are located. The boulevard broadens at these two entrance zones forming welcoming squares. Up above, the connecting roof rises to greater heights and, as a result, adds rhythm to the interior space.
Desire and reality
The interior design concept reflects the motto “United in Diversity”. Warm colours and high-quality materials in the administration and a touch of colour with more dynamic surfaces in the world of sports convey the differences in scale. The uniform Bolidt flooring on all levels of the boulevard connects the various zones. Oblique walls with different surfaces and colours open up vistas, while the folded roof above spans the en-tirety like a network of nodes and bars with inset triangular panels made of perforated plasterboard. As a continuous theme, the roof connects everything that the new building intends to unite: office work and active motion, play and advanced science, a welcoming feel and protected space. The continuous ribbon-like flow of the different levels is a further distinctive feature that characterises the building both inside and out.
The work areas in the administration and academy are uniform and restrained in design. The centre zone with acoustic window and wall panels is designed to add a touch of colour; these accentuated areas are characterised by high-quality surfaces and a pleasant work atmosphere. Different communication zones provide an informal exchange and always offer a view of the sport. In total, there are about 700 work spaces to take care of the DFB’s varied tasks. Depending on the requirements, the desks have been arranged in open-plan or private offices.
The DFB Academy is much more than just an administration build-ing. As a repository of knowledge, a creativity workshop, training camp and education centre, it provides space for opportunities, networks resources, implements know-how and promotes young talents. The academy incorporates the areas “Education”, “National teams” as well as “Development and innovation” and draws experts from a variety of fields, including psychology, medicine, technology, sports and communication. The sports’ foyer with its intersected courtyards is located on the ground floor. It provides access to the medical surgeries, rooms for physiotherapy, wellness and exercise, as well as the changing rooms and tech lab, where new training methods are tested.
The large indoor football arena, which complements the three natural grass pitches outside and complies with UEFA competition rules, offers the possibility to train independently from weather conditions. The spectator boxes on the two upper floors, the stands and the running track are highlights of this indoor pitch. The smaller multi-purpose hall is also used for sports. Thanks to the white ceiling construction, light-coloured sports flooring and walls, the elegant space is also suitable for gala events.
The individual structural elements of the DFB Campus are held together by a single long-span roof. In analogy to a small city, the underside of the roof creates the impression of a sky and, as a result, emphasises the idea of a seamless flow between indoors and outdoors. Different sized triangular roof panels joined together at different angles create a friendly and lively feeling. The pattern of the joints has been purposefully designed to highlight the three-dimensional appearance and incorporate the lighting in the black gaps. Painted with a variety of light white and blue tones to resemble the colour of the sky, the individual acoustic ceiling panels accentuate the sculptural effect of the roof.
The academy’s various small and large exterior zones with playing fields and terraces are embedded in the mature urban woodland like a clearing in the city forest. An exclusive recreational zone, positioned between the athletes’ building and the outdoor football pitches, borders onto a stepped seating area for spectators and visitors.
