New town centre of Westerheim

Competition 09/2021

New town centre of Westerheim with new town hall building

Building owner: Municipality Westerheim, 72589 Westerheim 

In cooperation with bwb backeweberbleyle architekten, Stuttgart

The design of the outdoor facilities of the town hall square and church square picks up on the formal language of the building, creating a harmonious interplay between the building and the outdoor space. The aim of the design was to integrate the new building functionally and aesthetically into its surroundings and to create a multifunctional playable square area in the centre of Westerheim.

With the help of a few elements, the design of the outdoor space is reduced to the essentials, creating space for diverse and user-oriented use. A harmonious triad is created between the buildings of the church, the town hall and the Haus des Gastes, which is also emphasised by the uniform surfacing. This concept is complemented by a considerate treatment of the existing buildings in the north of the processing area.

Further goals were the preservation of as many existing trees as possible and the optimisation of existing pathways. The path connection from north to south is taken up and set in scene by the linear water feature. The water also plays a decisive role in reference to the history of the site and thematically picks up on the former hut.

The new design of the outdoor facilities is strongly oriented towards the topography of the site. Despite the sloping terrain towards the north, barrier-free accessibility to all places on the entire site is still ensured. The newly created staircase in the centre of the square creates an open spatial structure and creates a beautiful counterpart to the church and the town hall.

The square is bordered to the east and south by rows of trees on the opposite side of the street. These give the square clear, green edges and natural shade in the area of the new bus caps.