BRIEF Building envelope design of new natural gas power plant and construction of visitor observation deck at Düsseldorf’s Rhine Bend in immediate vicinity of the harbour and city centre ADDED VALUE The facade links the observation deck and power plant components creating a complex of buildings which, through an interplay of closed frames and illuminated joints, has become a structural logo for the city’s energy supplier at night.
LAUSWARD POWER PLANT, DÜSSELDORF | GERMANY The new highly efficient and climate-friendly natural gas power plant is visible from afar at the bend of the river Rhine and, as a distinct landmark, indicates the city’s south-west boundary. A facade made of steel frames wraps the various building components of the new power plant in a uniform cloak. The individual modules have been designed to meet the diverse requirements of the inner workings; at the same time, the rhythmic pattern of the skin divides the vast scale of the facility into acceptable units. The largest frame element completing the plant in the north-east, the so-called “City Window”, incorporates the smokestack – the highest point in the complex. A lift takes groups of visitors up to an observation deck approximately 45 metres above the ground from where, through a fully glazed facade, they can see across the vast expanse of the power plant as far as Cologne and north across the river Rhine to Düsseldorf’s city centre.