Precast elements in the historic context – A prefabricated façade for the Jacoby Studios in Paderborn
The site of the former St. Vincenz State Hospital is located in the medieval city center of Paderborn, directly adjacent to the springs of the river Pader. Over a period of three years, the hospital complex whose nucleus dates back to a 17th century monastery was converted into the Jacoby Studios, the headquarters of the Paderborn-based TAP Holding, based on the design by David Chipperfield Architects, Berlin, and under the head responsibility of Schilling Architekten, Cologne.
The historic complex was partially destroyed during the Second World War and subsequently reconstructed and extended in the post-war period, including a comprehensive redesign to meet the
requirements arising from its use as a hospital. In the current project,
post-war additions to the buildings were removed to expose the remaining historic fabric, creating a picturesque “ruin” structure with the former cloister at its heart. In addition, the project includes generously designed new wings arranged north, west, and south of the existing building in response to the orthogonal order.
The appearance of the new buildings essentially builds upon their precast element design comprising vertical partition walls and
horizontal balconies. Some of the bays are fully covered with suspended
concrete façade panels. These sharp-edged elements conform to the highest architectural concrete standards while blending harmoniously with the historic brickwork and quarry stone masonry to form
a new urbanistic whole.
Combining the old with the new – concrete with quarry stone – gave rise to a coherent yet exciting composition interlinking the new with the historic context.
As one of seven projects in Germany, the Jacoby Studios have been nominated for the 2021 European Union Prize for Contemporary
Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. In November 2020, the project received the 2020 “Respekt und Perspektive. Bauen im Bestand” [Respect and Perspective. Reconstruction of Existing Buildings] prize awarded by Deutsche Bauzeitung.
Co-author / weiterer Autor:
Dipl.-Ing. Arch. Jochem Vieren, Schilling Architekten, Köln
