Because of this, that highway was lowered
by 6 metres, and a new bridge made of
steel and folded glass built, flanked on both
sides by retail/food and beverage pavilions.
Yvonne adds: “The new bridge
transforms the pedestrian experience,
seamlessly linking the station with the
city centre.”
A perhaps smaller, but still significant
design challenge for the architects was to
reduce the size of the public square in
front of the railway station, and create
what the architect describes as a “much
more human scale.”
“We achieved this, for example, by
proposing the relocation of the main
building to bring it into closer focus,
Yvonne explains.A striking centrepiece
Now complete, users crossing the new,
improved public realm are greeted by the
new flagship store’s unique, amorphous
and slanted facade, which achieves its aim
of forming an architectural landmark in
the city.
The curved facade of brass panels firstdraws the eye in with its intricacies – each
panel having to be designed “individually
and with care” because there couldn’t be a
uniform size and shape, each panel also
having a unique perforation to create a
discernible pattern from the variety.
Inspiring City Plaza’s exterior here was
the city’s 18th and 19th century textiles
boom, details Yvonne, the practice taking
in influence from the yarns, fabrics and
lace that were created here, as well as the
colouring of such materials.
“We decided to create a multiply,
curving facade,” she says, “leaning
outwards at the upper levels by 4.6 per
cent (a total of 2 metres overall), which
resembles the folds of curtains.”
The architect explains how this curved
gold cladding, produced by German metal
facade manufacturer Pohl Facade
Division, fits into the surrounding
vernacular: “Our ambition was to present
Wuppertal as a vibrant blend of the old
and the new – with a contemporary design
for a striking centrepiece building which
would help to achieve that in a way which
would complement the wider urbanVIBRANT BLEND
The architects’ ambition was to “present Wuppertal
as a vibrant blend of the old an the new – with a
contemporary design for a striking centrepiece”
© Carola Kohler54PROJECT REPORT: RETAIL DEVELOPMENTSWWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK ADF FEBRUARY 2020
UPLOADED BY "What's News" vk.com/wsnws TELEGRAM: t.me/whatsnws