22.02.2021

New interim building for Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe

Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe; Visualisation: DMAA
Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe; Photo: Arno Kohlem
Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe; Photo: Arno Kohlem
Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe; Photo: Arno Kohlem

In continuous operation since 1975, the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe is now in need of extensive refurbishment and expansion. Key technical systems no longer meet today’s working and safety standards and complying with the fire safety requirements alone made several costly interventions necessary. In addition, the theatre’s various venues and rehearsal rooms, currently spread throughout the city, are to be centralised and housed at a single location. The aging foyer and entrance area is to be enlarged and improved in terms of its social and cultural aspects. The necessary renovation works also offer an opportunity to rethink and redesign the Badisches Staatstheater as an open house for an open society.

Emerging as the first-place winner from the architecture competition was a design by the internationally renowned architecture firm Delugan Meissl Associated Architects (DMAA) from Vienna in collaboration with Karlsruhe-based architecture firm Wenzel + Wenzel. The foyer will be open all day to residents and guests of Karlsruhe as a non-commercial public space. Barrier-free access is ensured, among other things, through a direct link from the underground car park into the building.

Interim building– NEUES ENTREE: The project will create a new event venue and social gathering place for the public with a floor area of approx. 1,000 m² and barrier-free access for all theatregoers, featuring box office, dining, cloakroom and toilets all on the same level. The transparent glass façade of the Neues Entrée will provide a round-the-clock view of the interior of the new entrance hall. The building will be continuously ventilated, cooled in the summer and heated in the winter. ZÜBLIN Timber was commissioned to realise the interim building, to be used as a foyer, during ongoing theatre operations. The work involves the use of glulam beams, interior and exterior timber frame walls and a timber beam floor with OSB planks. The project is being realised on a very tight schedule together with ZÜBLIN’s Karlsruhe business unit.

More information: http://sanierung.staatstheater.karlsruhe.de/entree/