The building, which is 52 meters wide, 172 meters long and 24.80 metres high, stretches along Werdener Street in Düsseldorf.
The prize winning design from 2006 by the firm of architects agn Niederberghaus & Partner GmbH, Ibbenbüren, who also took on the role of general planners for the project, is reminiscent from above of an abstract paragraph and stands out due to its transparency, openness and brightness. The design creates a court building that does not shut itself off architecturally but is instead open for all citizens and acts as a positive stimulus for the district of Oberbilk.
Visitors and employees can access the representative, multiple-storey entrance hall from the forecourt on Werdener Street. The central security gates allow both quick access and seamless security checks. The focal point of the hall is the staircase made out of steel, glass and wood. Civil, penal and jury courts, as well as a library, cafeteria and conference rooms, are located on the ground floor and also on floors 1 and 2. Floors 3 to 5 are fitted out as office space. The high entrance hall fitted with a glass ceiling, room-height windows, two inner courtyards and numerous atriums provides the building with a feeling of openness and transparency. A generously designed cafeteria with an outdoor patio is open to all visitors.
ARGE LG/AG Düsseldorf and the companies Bohle Innenausbau GmbH & Co. KG, Coesfeld Branch and Hoffrogge Innenausbau GmbH set themselves the deadline and the technical challenge of completing the project within a construction period of 16 months.
The company Hoffrogge Innenausbau GmbH took on the job of developing the basement within this joint operation and Bohle Innenausbau GmbH & Co. KG fitted the ground floor up to and including the 5th floor with lightweight interior walls, suspended ceilings and cavity and raised flooring.
Bohle Innenausbau GmbH & Co. KG took on the technical and commercial leadership within the joint operation. The 6 floors received a total of 22,500 m² of cavity flooring that allows for retrofitting in all rooms of the building. In addition, reversible raised flooring was installed over 500 m² in the LAN and electrical installation rooms. The interior work carried out on the different floors included a total of 32,000 m² of metal stud partition walls, from double boarded single metal stud frame walls through to impenetrable double metal stud frame walls.
The planners also placed high demands on sound insulation. The magistrate’s halls were partitioned using almost 6,000 m² of lightweight sound insulating walls to meet the higher requirements placed on them. As a result of their perfect technical installation, the required discretion in the relevant deliberation rooms is guaranteed.
Alongside cavity flooring and lightweight interior walls, the consortium delivered and installed 20,000 m² of suspended ceilings with a very high level of workmanship.
Exposed grid, removable acoustic ceiling systems of ceiling grid type S 3 from the company OWA were installed in the basement. The magistrate’s halls were fitted with 4,500 m² of acoustic perforated gypsum ceiling with coved lighting from pre-assembled factory systems.
The high acoustic requirements in the building’s library were fulfilled with 400 m² of danoline tectopanel S with a Kraft-Pico plaster coating. In addition, 6 ceiling sails were hung in the library. These sails also received a Kraft-Pico plaster coating, for example, in the colours black and brown. The materials fitted in the library fulfilled, therefore, both the very high acoustic requirements and also achieved an impressive overall optical finish.
The reverberation time in the 3-floor entrance hall was significantly regulated with 600 m² of danoline tectopanel on the walls as exterior cladding. The coating was also completed using Kraft-Pico plastering.
Therefore, the result in this area was not only an acoustically pleasant environment but also a first-class optical highlight.
Facts and figures:
Gross floor area (GFA): 70,000 m2
Dimensions (W,L,H) 52 m x 172 m x 24.80m
Floors: 6 upper floors, 2 underground parking levels
Start of excavation work in 2007
Laying of the foundation stone: 22.10.2007
Anticipated completion date: February 2010
Cavity flooring: 22,500 m²
Raised flooring: 500 m²
Gypsum plasterboard walls: 32,000 m²
Suspended ceilings: 20,000 m²
