Carmen Würth Forum

A second construction phase completes the Carmen Würth Forum for the Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG situated in the town of Künzelsau in southern Germany. A flexible conference area and an art museum extend the existing concert hall and large event hall, opened in 2017. The diverse range of functions further establishes the complex’s conceptual idea of a forum and allows the building to be open continuously, in particular due to its use as a museum.

The contemplative exhibition spaces, dedicated to exquisite pieces from the Würth Collection, provide a counterpoint to the event spaces. The museum with its café and foyer includes a large, divisible exhibition hall with daylight atmosphere and a smaller, more intimate graphics art gallery. Through a glazed belvedere, the museum opens up to the vast landscape and initiates a dialogue between the works of art and the place, continued in a sculpture park set in the scenic surroundings of the Carmen Würth Forum.

The clear architecture of the forum adopts the forms and language of industrial architecture, while refining it in terms of materiality. It seeks a sculptural engagement not only with the surrounding landscape, but also with the clear forms of Würths company premises.

Design Team:

David Chipperfield Architects

Partners: David Chipperfield, Harald Müller, Martin Reichert and Alexander Schwarz (Design lead)

Competition

Project architect: Annette Flohrschütz

Competition team: Sandra Badji, Markus Bauer, Jan Blaurock, te Burdelski, Mirjam von Busch, Florian Dirschedl, Ulrike Eberhardt, Hannah Jonas, Hjördis Klein, Barbara Koller, Martina Maire, Jana Raudnitzky, Stefanie Schleipen, Marika Schmidt, Moritz Uhlmann; Grafik, Visualisierung Dalia Liksaite, Antonia Schlegel and Ute Zscharnt

Phase 2

Project architect: Marcus Mathias (Preparation and brief to Technical design, Site design and construction supervision, Procurement)

Project team: Alexander Bellmann, Leander Bulst, Bernhard Danigel, Dirk Gschwind, Christopher Jonas, Linda von Karstedt, Maximilian Lohmann, Thomas Schöpf, Nils Stelter; Graphics, Visualisation: Dalia Liksaite, Ken Polster

Executive architect: Kraft Kraft Architekten, Schwäbisch Hall (Procurement, Construction supervision) represented by Gerd Eckert and Markus Masseretti

Structural engineer: Mayer-Vorfelder und Dinkelacker Ingenieurgesellschaft für Bauwesen GmbH und Co KG, Sindelfingen

Services engineer: ZB Zimmermann und Becker GmbH, Heilbronn PBS Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH, Aalen (Electrical consultant)

Building physics, Acoustics: Horstmann Berger

Fire consultant: Halfkann Kirchner

Façade consultant: Reba Fassadentechnik AG

Lighting consultant: Arup Deutschland GmbH (Daylight consultant)