Carmen Würth Forum

The Carmen Würth Forum, a new cultural centre in Künzelsau, Germany, is a tribute by the celebrated mogul Reinhold Würth to his wife Carmen for her eightieth birthday.

One of the world’s most prestigious design firms, David Chipperfield Architects, was chosen for this ambitious project.

The project area extends over 11,000 m2, just a short distance from the Würth Museum and from the head office of the "corporate complex" of Würth, a leading company with offices across the globe.

Künzelsau in Baden Württemberg is a natural and symbolic choice for the Würth family. Construction of the Carmen Würth Forum began in 2011 and it was inaugurated on 18 July 2017.

The winning idea of David Chipperfield and Alexander Schwarz was to integrate the building into the surrounding area, with its large meadows and fields, turning this into the architectural theme of the project. Two concrete walls cast in situ frame the square in front of the main entrance. The entrance leads into the foyer, illuminated with natural light and giving access to the large, multi-purpose events hall.

The lower floor is completely underground, whereas the upper floor has glass walls on all sides and rises just over the hill on which the building stands.

Focus

 

  • design by David Chipperfield Architect Berlin.
  • calls for tenders for supply of the theatre seats, with 25 participating companies
  • 15 calendar days to submit the financial bid and technical drawings
  • 2 companies selected (1/08/2016) and given 15 calendar days to produce the mock-up (16/08/2018)
  • 23/12/2016 Ares Line is awarded the contract, with a final work completion date of 1 May 2017
  • Carmen Forum custom seating

Project

Carmen Würth Forum

 

Location

Künzelsau, Germany

 

End use

Theatre

 

Designer

David Chipperfield, Alexander Schwarz - partner

 

Covered Surface

10,000 sqm

 

Supplied seats

580

 

Supplied products

Carmen Forum (custom seating)

 

Year of completion

2017

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Strengths 

Solution on demand

Our strength is coordinated design between our technical office and the client’s designers. The lines of the seat are based on a design by David Chipperfield Architects, which had made precise requests to the participating companies in the bidding phase.

Right from the start, our team of technicians worked alongside the designers to develop the seat, making fine adjustments to the project and specifying the typical features of an ergonomic and well-constructed seat. We satisfied the designers’ requests by creating the prototype they requested, but we also decided to pursue an alternative at the same time and provided a second prototype created by our own designer, Giovanni Baccolini.

 

Designs and finishes

The curved and harmonious lines of the wood required development of special moulds in a smoked oak finish. The monolithic appearance of the compact sides and backrests give the impression of solidity. Würth red velvet chosen as a sample.

The ace in the hole

We decided to bring 2 prototypes to the mock-up presentation: the first (photo on the left) corresponding with the designers’ requests and the second based on a design by designer G. Baccolini and our technical office. Both prototypes were assembled with Würth components. Furthermore, in an important detail for the jury, a cross-section of part of the prototype was also presented to show the quality of the interior materials.

Technical data

theatre capacity

580 seats

 

dimensions 

10,000 sqm indoors, with total seating indoors and in the outside square for over 10,000 people

 

installed products

Carmen Forum (custom seating)

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