This prominent site at the bridge over the Neckar is occupied with a confidently independent vertical accent. The new building addresses both Friedrich-Ebert-Straße and the planned adjacent residential construction while mediating in scale between its various neighbors within the public space. Whereas the structured design of the facade radiates calm and transparency, the building’s sculptural form reacts sensitively to its context: Zones for approach and access are created to emphasize the entrance to the SWR broadcasting company, the building form is offset and set back in response to the neighboring housing, and there is an urban balcony opening out to the west side and onto the banks of the Neckar River. This urban condition anchors the freestanding home of the SWR in the new Schafweide quarter.


realisation: 2020
competition: 1st prize
BGF: 4.290 m²
BRI: 20.520 m³
builder: SWR
place: Mannheim pictures: Steimle Architekten BDA with vize