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HypoVereinsbank – Saarbrücken Branch Conversion

Client
HypoVereinsbank München /
SGS Salvatorplatz-Grundstücksgesellschaft mbH & Co. OHG Saarland

Start of Planning - Completion
1998 - 2001

Performance phases
2 - 5

Team
Planning: Kai Otto, Georg Wunderle

Building data
Total cost 10,200,000 €
Total usable floor area 4,349 m²

Dating back to 1960, the building of the Saarbrücken branch of the HypoVereinsbank was in need of a new architectural image. This was combined with improvement of an inadequate thermal insulation of the building envelope. The service counter area in the inner courtyard – an enclosed space completely reliant on artificial illumination – was knocked down and replaced by a large new hall space. This is illuminated through a column-free suspended roof integrated in the existing fabric with an all-round strip of glazing. A sight line from the street through the hall to a green atrium courtyard has been created.

Parts of the original perforated façade clad with natural stone have been retained. Thermal insulation was improved by addition of an insulating glass façade in front of the old façade. External window sills in the upper floors were removed and casings were clad with wood.

Although the old façade is still recognisable in a modified form, a completely new architectural appearance has been created. A greater inward and outward transparency has been achieved on all floors, as well as an open entrance area and better working conditions on the office floors. The ground floor space has been redesigned as a "finance shop". The flexible service counter area is not limited to its main function of serving customers: in the evenings, it can be transformed into a venue for lectures or small concerts.

By partial retention of the black natural stone of the original façade and combination with wood, aluminium and glass, a new design concept combining old and new has been developed.