pumping station Mittelweiherburg | firm architekten

What is the adequate appearance of a seventy-meter-long concrete structure, located on
an open meadow next to a small castle?

A new groundwater pumping station is built for the city of Bregenz and the towns of Hard,
Lauterach and Wolfurt in the west of Austria. A small dark concrete cube next to the main
building includes the vertical fountain and pumps up the fresh water. The large dark main
building, which is mainly closed to the public, includes the technical installations for the water
preparation and huge water tanks. Right next to the technical building the landmark
“Mittelweiherburg”, a small castle is located. The complex of these three buildings create an
open space in between, used by the public. A fresh water fountain and concrete blocks to rest
on are used by people waiting to enter the museum in the castle, or make a rest while driving
along the public bicycle path which passes the site.
The building façade deals with two very different phenomena’s. From distance, the dark
building gets blurred within the environment. When you get closer, one can see the washedout
concrete structure and size of the building. The aim was to craft the façade with water,
which is contained within the volume. Also, the few doors intend to play down their size and
therefore the volume of the building. The largest is more than four meters high, hard to guess
as long as you come up to the building. The doors are made of dark blue enamel coated metal
sheets, which glimmer like a water surface. All in all, the project is an example to create a
long-lasting infrastructural building with an architectural idea.