Rudolf Prenzel: City Hall, 1959D–1973
- Pforzheim, Germany, Show on map
- #GOV #Western Europe
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Town hall replacing old town hall and adjacent buildings destroyed in 1945 British air raid. A competition was held between 1959 and 1963. Construction started in 1968. The result is a two-winged, dynamically bent building complex with a hexagonal council hall in front. Formwork-rough columns, prefabricated parapet elements, staircases in cast-in-place concrete and monumental concrete reliefs - the entire structure is defined by different variants of exposed concrete, both inside and out. Circumferential escape and rescue balconies horizontalize the office floors, while the one- to two-story roof zone is irregularly rhythmicized according to special uses by the canteen, bell floor and mayor's office. The second floor stands out as a projecting representational piano nobile: its angular, bay-like projections stand on sculptural supports, and the façade surface is further accentuated by the bush-hammered concrete. The council chamber is set as a flatter building in front of the large administrative wing and separates the upper market square with its large staircase and fountain from the lower, smaller and greened part.
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Heritage protected since 2005. The originally exposed concrete is partly painted outside today. Parts of the plaza have been removed including the water features. The interior is well preserved and still largely in its original state (last updated on May 29, 2024).













