Lusatian Lakeland

The Lusatian Lakeland
The landscape around Senftenberg is characterized by decades of coal mining. Deep mining hole brownfield sites are evidence of this widespread exploitation of nature. At this time largely disused the holes are now saved and will in future be supplied to new uses as big lakes. The plan is to connect them by channels. Rich leisure offers in and around the water are supposed to attract tourists. This was the context in which the international competition was placed to design a landmark. The building should express the transformation of the whole area.
The site
The site, determined by the insert of the Sornoer Channel into the Sedlitzer See, describes a characteristic far away seen headland.
The landmark
Setting the term „country brand“ as literally as possible that´s the leading idea of this project. The landmark is a sculpture situated in the landscape designed particularily für the special site of the transmition of the Sornoer Channel into the Lake Sedlitz. On a triangular floor the building rises with different faces on both sides. While opening to the landside with sculptural stairways, to the lake it presents itself as a oversized stele.
The material
The observation tower of weatherproof steel (Corten steel) gets by weathering an expressive red-brown patina. If in some years the mine holes will be turned into idyllic lakes with verdant banks, the landmark as raw milestone in the history of motion reminiscent the past of the region. The rusty surface of the tower remind of the former bridges of the overburden opencast mines.
A tension-filled experience
By ascending and descending the stairs the visitor learns about the thinness of the material and the particular method  of construction. Each step ist auditory experience. For example when closing the tower door loudly downstairs, it seems that the whole stele would shake. On the other hand the closed staircases and balustrades give you the impression of solidity und security, so that people suffering from vertigo on climbing up the  stairs of 30 meters height much easier.
The detail
The formation and organisation of details is characterized by the search of the greatest simplicity in continuou materials. The raw untreated surfaces with notes of the assembly und printing of product information from the steel factory give visitors impressions of the production of structure.
The construction
The tower  thexing an interior, load-bearing skeleton of T-beams, but ower is constructed entirely of six or ten millimeters thick, weatherproof flat. The visible surfaces are not facing an interior, load-bearing skeleton of T-beams, but form the primary structure itself and have the effectiveness of ship-building for all static primary constructions. Stacked and welded hollow boxes are braced by inner ribs. The building was pre-fabricated in components in the steel building company structure in the Eifel region and then delivered out of the maximum pieces to  Senftenberg. Elaborate welding work on site could thus be reduced to a minimum.

Stefan Giers born 1967 in Bonn. 1993 cooperation with the office for architecture Hempelt und Bernhart, Darmstadt. 1994 cooperation with the office for architecture Jürgen Frauenfeld, Frankfurt. 1995 ”Stagiaire“ at the office for architecture Herzog & de Meuron, Basel. Cooperation with the office for architecture Jörg Pampe, Berlin 1996-1997 cooperation with the office for architecture Gert Schulze, Bremen. 1998-2005 cooperation with the office for architecture Raupach & Schurk, München. 2005-2009 cooperation with the office for architecture Koch und Partner, München. Susanne Gabriel was born in 1970 in Salzburg, Austria. 1995 cooperation with the office for l. arch. Kiefer, Berlin. 1996 cooperation with the office for l. arch. Schmidt & Partner, Berlin.
Cooperation with the office for  l. arch. Mettler, Berlin. 1997 cooperation with the office for l. arch. Trillitzsch & Jost, Berlin. 1998 cooperation with the office for l. arch. Latz & Partner, Kranzberg.
2001 cooperation with the office for l. arch. Realgrün, München. Since 2006 cooperation with the office for l. arch. Keller, München. Realised projects 2002 Courtyard design for a office building in Munich. 2002-2003 Courtyard design for a office building in Munich. 2004 Private garden Hautz, München. 2007 Courtyard design for a residential building in München. 2005-2008 Landmarke Lausitzer Seenland. 2008-2009 Infopavilion at the Landmarke Lausitzer Seenland. 2009 Restaurante at the Landmarke Lausitzer Seenland.