Typology power plant facade, city window with observation deck Location Düsseldorf Construction Volume city window with observation deck GFA 1,620m², GV 33,500m3 total facade area approx. 24,000m², incl. approx. 2,700m² for city window glass facade Client Stadtwerke Düsseldorf Building Services Siemens AG Realisation 2012 -2016 Competition 1st prize 2012 Awards Sonderpreis Industriebaupreis 2016, AIV – Bauwerk des Jahres 2016, Iconic Awards 2017 , BDA Düsseldorf Auszeichnung guter Bauten 2017 – honorable mention
#Building envelope design of new natural gas power plant and construction of visitor observation deck at Düsseldorf’s Rhine Bend in immediate vicinity of the harbour and city centre
The facade links the observation deck and power plant components creating a complex of buildings which, through an interplay of closed frames and illuminated joints, has become a structural logo for the city’s energy supplier at night.
The new highly efficient and climate-friendly natural gas power plant is visible from afar at the bend of the river Rhine and, as a distinct landmark, indicates the city’s south-west boundary. A facade made of steel frames wraps the various building components of the new power plant in a uniform cloak. The individual modules have been designed to meet the diverse requirements of the inner workings; at the same time, the rhythmic pattern of the skin divides the vast scale of the facility into acceptable units. The largest frame element completing the plant in the north-east, the so-called “City Window”, incorporates the smokestack – the highest point in the complex. A lift takes groups of visitors up to an observation deck approximately 45 metres above the ground from where, through a fully glazed facade, they can see across the vast expanse of the power plant as far as Cologne and north across the river Rhine to Düsseldorf’s city centre.
The new build is located on Lausward, an area just south of the city centre at the bend of the river Rhine in immediate vicinity of the harbour. The difficulty of the location, overshadowed by the old power plant structures, was to strengthen the affiliation of the two plants as an ensemble and give the symbiotic relationship of old and new a powerful force. At the same time, however, the new power plant was to stand out as an eye-catching structural logo, be visible from afar, as well as appear warm and welcoming up close.
The largest frame element completing the plant in the northeast, the so-called 60-metre-high City Window, incorporates the power plant’s main stack – at approximately 63m, the highest peak within the grounds.
The structure of the City Window includes a steel framework construction which is independent from the boiler house and the tower.
The underside of the City Window’s roof and the side walls are clad with folded aluminium sheet lamellae. These are designed to reflect the light at night and provide sufficient depth for the accommodation of smoke exhaust and ventilation ducts.
