Heidelberg Congress Center | Degelo Architekten

Just a couple of minutes by foot from the main railway station, in the city's new "Bahnstadt" ("Railway city") quarter, a generous event location for conferences and congresses is being developed.

The scaffolding has recently been removed, and now the facade can be fully appreciated. It is made - just like the famous castle and many heritage buildings in the city - from a type of local red sandstone which has traditionally been quarried in the region for more than 1,000 years. How it is worked is, however, markedly different - in regard to design, as well as technique.

The almost windowless facade reveals its wavey structure only on closer inspection. It evokes impressions of a stage curtain and the resulting interplay between light and shadow upon its surface provides the otherwise massive stone with a touch of lightness. The fluting was achieved by digitally honing the charring - which is actually a very traditional stonemasons technique - and then manually breaking it off. This coarse treatment of the surface reduces the fine yellow marbling of the stone to a background feature. In contrast, the few drop-shaped frames around the windows are smooth and finely polished, which clearly reveals the marbling. Strung along like a pearl necklace, they perforate the facade only in a couple of places. A further contrast is provided by the two recessed, almost floor -to-ceiling high glass entrances, which are at once representative but also inviting.

» Opening of the Heidelberg Congress Center scheduled for spring 2024