schulz und schulz

Description

The building was built in the 1980s as a headquarters for the Volkspolizei in the greater Chemnitz Plattenbau area called Fritz Heckert. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the building was taken over by the Saxony police because of its ideal location for patrolling the area of Chemnitz-Süd. Due to the bad state of repair and the antiquated electrical equipment, renovations were necessary. In its original state, the building was unrec-ognizable as a police station due to fact that it looked very much like a typical apartment building of the times. This nondescript image as well as the disorganized positioning of the adjoining buildings only emphasized the need for a make-over of the complex. First, the grounds were reorganized by tearing down some of the adjoining buildings and complimented by erecting a garage complex thus creating a compact court yard. The main building was cut into a clean cube by demolishing additions and projections. To add to the sleekness, the structure was completely covered in a metal skin. The uniform grid of the façade stems from the outlines of the original building with the vertical lines being floor-height intersected by horizontal ones. This gives the building a more generous profile. The incision in the corner of the cube marks the entrance to the station which opens outwards towards a wide stairway from the outside. A dominating silver and green stripe suggests the corporate design of the Saxony police.