Neubrandenburg Sports & Health Park

 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Neubrandenburg Sport- und Gesundheitspark (Sports and Health Park) is a sports, wellness and recreational complex set in and around two abandoned train depots in a centrally located in a train yard in the heart of Neubrandenburg, Germany.

The historic industrial landscape is re-purposed into a unique cultural destination with a mix of new functions including indoor and outdoor swimming facilities, spa and wellness areas, a sports club and dedicated areas for sports medicine, physical therapy and recovery treatment, for local and regional visitors and recreational exercisers seeking an active and healthy lifestyle. The various activities in one location enable new synergies between everyday urban life and an active healthy lifestyle. Extrovert public functions like cafés, restaurants, meeting and conference facilities, as well as co-working and office space for private organizations and businesses, ensure local engagement and community.

Abandoned for nearly three decades and dividing the city in two geographical parts, the former industrial site will continue the transformation of the operational railroad station area into an integrated infrastructural hub and part of the new cultural and recreative center of Neubrandenburg. A new pedestrian tunnel will connect across the railroad tracks via the platforms offering new connections through the health park down to the city center. The transformation strategy preserves the existing heritage buildings to the widest extent possible and retrofits new program gently into the existing building mass - creating a completely new perspective on Neubrandenburg for the many transit passengers travelling from Hamburg to Szczecin. 

The project includes a new plan for the area’s landscape and urban spaces as well as the transformation of the two old industrial train depots, Lokschuppen 1 and Lokschuppen 2.

 

PROJECT DATA


Project name

Neubrandenburg Sprots & Health Park


Program

Culture, Sports, Recreation


Typology

Transformation, Architecture


Location

Neubrandenburg, Germany


Year

2016


Status

Commission, In progress


Size

6.000 m2


Client

Private


Collaborators

Andreas Jurchen (Project Manager), Karola, Hensel (Project Development)


Design team

Sinus Lynge, Tue Hesselberg Foged, Tina Lund Højgaard, Sandra Fleischmann, Toni Rubio Soler, Yulia Kozlova, Evgeny Markechev, Laura Gobbi


 

CONTEXT

Neubrandenburg is located in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, on the shore of the lake Tollensesee and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland.

 

The city is famous for its rich medieval heritage of Brick Gothic, especially the world’s best preserved defensive wall of this style.
The site of Lokschuppen Neubrandenburg is positioned just north of the wall and the train station.

 

EXISTING CONDITIONS

 
039_EFFEKT_2016_Roskilde_Station_Area_©_EFFEKT

The two train depots (Lokschuppen 1 and Lokshuppen 2) were built in 1864 and 1926, and are today some of the city's oldest remaining buildings, after a great part of the city centre was destroyed during World War 2. The area has been abandoned for over 30 years, and today it appears only as a memory of the 20th century’s industrial heritage. 

 
 

The technical conditions of the buildings differ, but they all suffer from having been abandoned for so long. 

 

TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY

 
NEU_Brandenburg_Health_Club_Swimming&Spa©_EFFEKT_2017_018.jpg
NEU_Brandenburg_Health_Club_Swimming&Spa©_EFFEKT_2017_019.jpg

Preservation
In Lokschuppen 2, we preserve all the exterior walls of the main hall and the beautiful old side building. The roof and the existing columns need to be removed in order to establish the big swimming pool. In Lokschuppen 1 we also keep all the existing facades and some of the interior walls, if possible. The roof is in a very poor condition and is therefore removed.

Heritage
Both Lokschuppen 1 and 2 represent the industrial heritage, and first step in the transformation of the whole area is the mapping of what is worth preserving and what is to be demolished to open up and ”clean up” the buildings and the site.

New structure
The existing buildings are restored and new durable and industrial facades and roofs added, naturally fitting the historical development and raw pragmatics of the train depot

New destination
By adapting the structure and organization to the existing roundhouse geometry, the exterior spaces becomes clearly defined urban spaces with the railway turntables
as the central meeting spaces.

 

 Lokschuppen 1 - Before and after
The preconditions of the buildings and the different programs give reason to two different transformation concepts. The concept for Lokschuppen 1 aims at protecting the old facades that have represented it for centuries. It does so by keeping the existing building facades intact, and inserting a new light structure inside the old building.

 

 Lokschuppen 2 - Before and after
Lokschuppen 2 gets a completely new envelope that wraps the old building. It solves the need for extra m2, new construction and facade. The new envelope has all the technical requirements that a swimming facility needs, and will give the building a completely new exterior, with elements of the old building appearing in different places.

 

SITE STRATEGY

Siteplan

The aim is to create an experience of a green urban park around the buildings. Therefore, as much green and as many of the old trees as possible are preserved, while opening up the site.  New trees are added in different areas to frame the outdoor spaces. The main path through the area blends into the green, and connects the site to the city and the main entrances of the buildings. The secondary paths are created by filling out with pavement in between the old tracks. The new tunnel under the railway connects the city centre to the site and a new main path through the area gives access to the buildings and the city to the north.

 
  

The four main concepts for transforming the site into a new vibrant extension of the city.

 

The two old turntables become new central points in the park. One having an outdoor pool and the other an amphi setting. 

 

LOKSCHUPPEN 1

The new light structure of Lokschuppen 1 has been inserted into the old building, preserving the old facade structure more or less as it is.
The interior spaces are simple and flexible, so they can be adjusted to different programs.

Lokschuppen 1 includes a restaurant and a sports bar in the eastern part of the building. The spaces are flexible and can change over time,
for instance into office hotel, co-working, conference, exhibition etc.

 
Ground floor plan, Lokschuppen 1

Ground floor plan - Lokschuppen 1

 
Section CC

Section CC - Lokschuppen 1

 
Unrolled Section DD

Unrolled Section DD - Lokschuppen 1

 
South Elevation

South elevation - Lokshcuppen 1

 
North Elevation

North elevation - Lokshcuppen 1

 

LOKSCHUPPEN 2

Outdoor Swimming Pool, Lokschuppen 2

The old facade and turntable of Lokschuppen 2 will be transformed with a new transparent and light facade which can open up in the summertime,
while the old turntable becomes a new outdoor swimming pool.

 

Lokschuppen 2 includes a new swimming pool and additional programs. The pool is placed in the big main hall and the changing facilities and lobby are attached as new structures on the north facade. The old side building includes fitness, lounge, massage area and sauna. 

 
Groundfloor plan, Lokschuppen 2

Ground floor plan - Lokschuppen 2

 
Section AA

Section AA - Lokschuppen 2

 
Unrolled Section BB

Unrolled Section BB - Lokschuppen 2

 
Main Swimming Pool, Lokschuppen 2

Main Swimming Pool - Lokschuppen 2
The new structures follow the original structural principle. Each column and beam segment radiates from the central turntable. The structure in the swimming pool is a light steel constructions, which clearly differs from the old building elements. Below the construction there is a perforated ceiling which gives a calm feeling to the space.

 

South elevation - Lokschuppen 2

 

North elevation - Lokschuppen 2

 

FACADE CLOSE-UP

Section through the southern wing containing most of the heated (21C) program.

Lokschuppen 2

Lokschuppen 1

While the preferred industrial building materials of the time was brick and wood, today it is steel and concrete. The result provides contrast as well as complements, is appropriate to the budget, true to the industrial logic, and leaves behind a holistic architectural impression. The new materials are light and in many places transparent, so you see the different historical layers of the buildings.