Pavilion Siegen, NR-W Architecture, Architect, New German Building Project Photos

Pavilion Siegen, Germany

Contemporary Building in northwest Germany design by Ian Shaw Architekten

8 Jan 2013

Siegen Pavilion Building

Design: Ian Shaw Architekten

Location: North Rhine-Westphalia, north west Germany

Date built: 2012

Location: Siegen is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian, part of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Pavilion Siegen

View from across the water, floor plate and ceiling cantilevering beyond the lakeshore:

photo © felix krumbholz courtesy of Ian Shaw Architekten

The pavilion’s dramatic, planar form articulates an assured, yet subtle compression of space, framing views of the lake and the local topography. The building’s tectonic rigour is palpable, its seemingly gravity defying configuration enabling the floor plate and ceiling to cantilever some 6m beyond the lakeshore.

View from across the water:

photo © felix krumbholz courtesy of Ian Shaw Architekten

The scheme is both a weekend fishing retreat and a garage for three classic cars. A toilet and washroom facility is also included, as is a storage area for the client’s angling equipment. Detailing is measured throughout – from the integrated lighting to the fully glazed internal area.

A fully glazed internal area partly folds back, accentuating the cantilever:

photo © felix krumbholz courtesy of Ian Shaw Architekten

The 12 x 12 m structure conforms to a strict proportional grid that determines both the position and heights of the walls, as well as the shuttering joints and fenestration divisions. The 3 x 3m door panels – built by the client’s engineering company, and weighing 340 kilos per door – pivot on bespoke spindles, allowing each to be opened with the push of a single finger.

A subtle compression of space, framing views of the lake and the local topography:

photo © felix krumbholz courtesy of Ian Shaw Architekten

The cantilevered platform is composed of precast concrete slabs, which are tied back to massive drum foundations; a finishing layer of in-situ concrete provides the necessary aesthetic uniformity to the floor plate’s appearance. The walls and ceiling were cast in-situ.

Three 3x3m steel door panels pivot on bespoke spindels:

photo © felix krumbholz courtesy of Ian Shaw Architekten

Throughout the building process the concrete mix was carefully monitored in order to achieve an off-white finish, this tone refining the pavilion’s dialogue with the surrounding terrain. Special, non-oiled shuttering ensured that no harm came to the lake’s fish population during the project’s construction.

A celebration of structural rigor and exacting materiality:

photo © felix krumbholz courtesy of Ian Shaw Architekten