Renowned architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava, along with the CENTRUM Group, has unveiled plans for Calatrava Boulevard, a luxury retail and office complex in Düsseldorf, Germany.
“Düsseldorf, with its famous Königsallee, is an elegant, cosmopolitan city with a sophisticated aura,” Calatrava said in a statement, referring to the boulevard known for its canal and high-end shopping. “Working closely with both the City Council and CENTRUM, we were able to develop a balanced and innovative solution that both preserves the distinctive and traditional character of the ‘Kö’ and creates new architectural and urban development excellence.”
Running parallel to Königsallee and connecting with the Steinstrasse station, Calatrava Boulevard will incorporate and connect to the boulevard’s existing buildings. Its inner façade will feature waveforms that sweep toward the outer façades facing Königstrasse and Steinstrasse.
RELATED: Santiago Calatrava-designed St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church opens in New York
The design’s centerpiece is a curved and vaulted 135-foot roof that’s lower than the typical height of high-rise buildings in the North Rhine-Westphalia state capital. As part of the project’s sustainability strategy, the landscaped roof terraces contain integrated solar panels, which also will help the city achieve its climate goals.
The first two levels of Calatrava Boulevard will provide about 160,000 sf of restaurant and retail space, with about 236,000 sf of office space on the second through eighth floors, which will preserve the Kö façades’ traditional structure. Calatrava Boulevard aims to attract top businesses and international luxury flagship stores, according to the statement.
Construction has begun on the project, which is scheduled for completion by 2028.
On the Building Team:
Owner/developer: CENTRUM Group
Design architect: Santiago Calatrava Architects and Engineers
Architect of record: BMP Architekten
MEP engineer: INGENIEURBÜRO DR. BLEIKER GmbH
Structural engineer: Santiago Calatrava Architects and Engineers
Here is the full statement from Santiago Calatrava:
On Monday, January 23, world-renowned architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava, Uwe Reppegather, Founder and Managing Director of the CENTRUM Group and Lord Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller announced the plans for Calatrava Boulevard – a sustainable, luxury building complex located on a site between Königsallee, Königstrasse and Steinstrasse in Düsseldorf, Germany. This project is a result of the close partnership between Calatrava and Reppegather meant to f create an international destination and must-see attraction.
“We are very pleased and proud to be involved in such an important project and to be able to make our contribution to sustainable urban development,” said Santiago Calatrava. “Düsseldorf, with its famous Königsallee, is an elegant, cosmopolitan city with a sophisticated aura. Working closely with both the City Council and CENTRUM, we were able to develop a balanced and innovative solution that both preserves the distinctive and traditional character of the “Kö” and creates new architectural and urban development excellence. My team and I are working on this project with the greatest of pleasure and enthusiasm and are proud to present the results of our work so far.”
Invigorating Königsallee as an international destination
Calatrava Boulevard will modernize the space located along the Königsallee and future-proof the location, making it a prime spot for top businesses and international luxury flagship stores. The centerpiece of the design is a curved and vaulted 135-foot roof which faces Martin-Luther-Platz and remains below the typical height of high-rise buildings in the North Rhine-Westphalia state capital. The landscaped roof terraces also contain integrated solar panels, adding to the sustainability of the project and helping the city achieve its climate goals. The existing buildings fronting the Königsallee will be incorporated and connected to Calatrava Boulevard to create a seamless experience.
The first two levels of Calatrava Boulevard will offer approximately 160,000 square feet of luxury restaurant and retail space. The central axis of the main building, with its triangular footprint, provides direct access into the Boulevard, which then further connects to the office lobbies on the 2nd to 8th floors. These upper floors will house 236,000 square feet of office space and will preserve the traditional structure of the “Kö” façades.
Related Stories
| Nov 25, 2013
Building Teams need to help owners avoid 'operational stray'
"Operational stray" occurs when a building’s MEP systems don’t work the way they should. Even the most well-designed and constructed building can stray from perfection—and that can cost the owner a ton in unnecessary utility costs. But help is on the way.
| Nov 19, 2013
Top 10 green building products for 2014
Assa Abloy's power-over-ethernet access-control locks and Schüco's retrofit façade system are among the products to make BuildingGreen Inc.'s annual Top-10 Green Building Products list.
| Nov 15, 2013
Greenbuild 2013 Report - BD+C Exclusive
The BD+C editorial team brings you this special report on the latest green building trends across nine key market sectors.
| Nov 15, 2013
Metal makes its mark on interior spaces
Beyond its long-standing role as a preferred material for a building’s structure and roof, metal is making its mark on interior spaces as well.
| Nov 13, 2013
Installed capacity of geothermal heat pumps to grow by 150% by 2020, says study
The worldwide installed capacity of GHP systems will reach 127.4 gigawatts-thermal over the next seven years, growth of nearly 150%, according to a recent report from Navigant Research.
| Oct 30, 2013
11 hot BIM/VDC topics for 2013
If you like to geek out on building information modeling and virtual design and construction, you should enjoy this overview of the top BIM/VDC topics.
| Oct 28, 2013
Urban growth doesn’t have to destroy nature—it can work with it
Our collective desire to live in cities has never been stronger. According to the World Health Organization, 60% of the world’s population will live in a city by 2030. As urban populations swell, what people demand from their cities is evolving.
| Oct 25, 2013
$3B Willets Points mixed-use development in New York wins City Council approval
The $3 billion Willets Points plan in New York City that will transform 23 acres into a mixed-use development has gained approval from the City Council.
| Oct 23, 2013
Gehry, Foster join Battersea Power Station redevelopment
Norman Foster and Frank Gehry have been selected to design a retail section within the £8 billion redevelopment of Battersea Power Station in London.
| Oct 18, 2013
Researchers discover tension-fusing properties of metal
When a group of MIT researchers recently discovered that stress can cause metal alloy to fuse rather than break apart, they assumed it must be a mistake. It wasn't. The surprising finding could lead to self-healing materials that repair early damage before it has a chance to spread.
