HALL 26

Hanover, Germany

1994-1996

Herzog + Partner

Hall 26 is an exhibition hall in the grounds of the international trade fair outside Hanover, Germany. The challenge facing the architect was to design a vast structure which would accommodate yet discipline more or less any collection of exhibits, be built very fast between trade shows and yet also be a model of energy-efficiency. For speed of construction, a suspended structure was adopted, with the roof sagging between tall trestle masts that were prefabricated, then transported to the site to be quickly pinned to their footings and hoisted into position. Energy efficiency necessitated making maximum use of natural light as well as of convection currents and the Venturi effect to exhaust air that is pumped in mechanically. A triumph of the design is how it so exactly marries these concerns, the structural arrangement and resulting longitudinal section matching precisely the profiles needed for light and ventilation. The big gestures in this building--the swooping roofs, supporting trestles and vast expanses of glass--are beautifully offset by smaller-scale, visually crisp repetitive details that give more precise definition and scale to the scheme. Shades of green: Low energy/high performance; long life, loose fit

[photo credits: 1, Dieter Liestner; 3, Aerophot - Demuss]