bez+kock architekten

Description

Not a building in the classic sense, but architecture that was conceived as part of the surrounding park landscape. A wide curved roof nestles into the landscape structures of paths and plants in the Luisenpark. The branches of the trees tower over the building, footpaths cross under its protective roof slab. As a fully glazed pavilion, the park restaurant merges the interior and exterior spaces. It looks out over the adjacent pond into the expanse of the park. A circular inner courtyard brings daylight into the depths of the dining area. Glass sliding doors allow the restaurant to be extended out under the surrounding canopy in the summer months. Adjacent rooms are clad in a façade of dark green glazed ceramic. Three pylons support the filigree cable net construction of a 15-metre-high aviary for large birds, which was cut out of the roof surface. A footpath crosses the aviary and allows visitors direct eye contact with the magnificent animals. The painstakingly handcrafted rammed concrete retaining wall absorbs the topography of the neighbouring pond. Its porous surface texture is reminiscent of the sediment layers of a quarry. Hidden behind the thick wall is an underwater world designed as a polygonal grotto. Here visitors can marvel at the flora and fauna of the world’s lakes and oceans in around twenty aquariums.