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SERIEN STUDENTENARBEIT • STUDENT WORK

Hochschule Darmstadt A s the theme of my bachelor thesis in the summer term of 2015, I chose the con-
version of a tank hall in Benjamin Franklin Village in Mannheim. The building is
located on the Sullivan Barracks base, an area of 44 hectares formerly used by the
www.h-da.de American military and close to Käfertaler Wald in the city district of the same name,
Foto: Marius Fürst 1971 gegründet Käfertal, in the northeast of the city. Most recently, about 8,000 people were living in
the completely autonomous city district with a day care centre, sports facilities, a cine-
15.000 Studierende in elf Fachbereichen
ma, schools and doctors’ surgeries – all only seven kilometres from the city centre.
Until 2015, a total 500 hectares, an area until then used by the US-American army,
were returned to the Federal Republic of Benjamin Franklin Village is a part of it and
is now, with comprehensive restructuring, to be revitalized as a residential district with
a wide range of sports areas and references to the scenery. The explicit aim is to thus
make Mannheim even more attractive as a modern and diversified location with a
high number of development opportunities. In the course of my research, it was espe-
cially exciting for me to find out how the Mannheim citizens themselves asses the for-
mer barracks grounds and their potential. As part of the conversion, the armoured-
vehicles hall was to be turned into a varied activity centre and a lively meeting place.
Besides the spatial offers for outdoor type of sports such as skating, courses and clim-
bing, a café with an event room, a reading lounge and a shop are also to become part
of the spatial arrangement. It goes without saying that in the foreground of the plan-
ning are the new residents of the area and achieving good quality of life. This includes,
for instance, good traffic connections, close-by shopping facilities, a multi-facetted
sports programme and the opportunity for communicating. Also decisive is that there
are offers for the different needs of people from various age groups. The city is plan-
ning to establish a highly mixed, revitalized residential district with numerous new
buildings but also with converted existing buildings such as the former tank hall.

Modellfoto • Photograph of model Creating meeting places, allowing spontaneity

One of the most important aspects for the concept was for me to create a place where
a relaxed exchange between the new neighbours comes naturally. This place is to be
the very heart of the district and casually bring residents as well as visitors together in
an inviting setting. Already during the in-depth analysis of the existing building fabric
and its surroundings, it became clear to me that I want to touch it as little as possible.
The hall, which consists of a roof with a strong grid, a row of supports at the longitudi-
nal axis and two walls at the short sides, has a very strong expression. It looks rough,
unpolished and spontaneous at the same time. I definitely wanted to preserve this look.
History and the present were to be connected in the hall. Besides firmly installed zones,
there thus always also remains the chance of individually discovering the place and of
spontaneously enriching it. In this way, the visitors are given the opportunity of shaping
the former tank hall through their presence, their interests and their creativity and to
give it a new life. Particularly striking is furthermore the quite flat landscape in the direc-
tion of the Mannheim city centre which helped me to create a conceptual relationship
between the city district of Käfertal and the city centre.

Grundriss • Floor plan Individual special establishes identity

Instead of the armoured vehicles formerly parked there, I added three differently dimen-
sioned modules to the grid of the hall. The constructions of different heights structure
the quite large area and, on the other, they unite the functions planned for it. Thus par-
allel events can be held, the café kept open and books exchanged. When strolling bet-
ween the modules, always different perspectives and vistas can be discovered on the
newly designed site. The spatial perception with a strict row of supports and a strongly
central-perspective view is thus supported even more. The spaces left free between the
new rooms can be used and designed depending on the focus, for example for skating,
Querschnitt • Cross section biking, running, climbing and dancing. The modules are each framed by a bracket of
Corten steel. Their translucent polycarbonate façades make for transparency and link
the outside with the inside space. The colourful light of the interior surfaces immerses
the rooms in a warm light. This is reflected towards the outside and, at night, turns the
modules into impressive luminous objects. Movements and sequences are perceived
from outside like silhouettes, thus creating interaction and making it easier to enter.
Each of the three towers is oriented towards its vis-à-vis and they are all open in the
direction of the city centre and Käfertaler Wald. In the course of the structural changes,
respect has to be paid to the historic dimension of the existing fabric. A place is to be
created which gains in quality by the combination of the original and the new structure.
Ansicht Süd • South elevation Thus the new district is upgraded and given an identity-establishing centre.

044 • AIT 4.2016