Press Release

A wooden car park as a bridge to the future

A wooden multi-storey car park is being built at Wendlingen railroad station that can be converted in stages in an era with fewer cars. With this sustainable approach, it has now been nominated as an IBA’27 project.

The city of Wendlingen am Neckar is currently building a new multi-storey car park with Stuttgart-based architects Herrmann + Bosch. It is located next to the train station and in the vicinity of the future »Otto Quartier«. With a height of around 18 meters, it initially offers space for almost 350 cars and 150 bicycles on five levels. There are 20 charging stations for electric cars and ten for e-bikes. The roofing ceremony was held in the fall of 2023 and the car park is due to open in 2024. On the recommendation of the international Board of Trustees, the Supervisory Board of Internationale Bauausstellung 2027 StadtRegion Stuttgart GmbH (IBA’27) has now decided to include the multi-storey car park as an official IBA’27 project as the building sets new standards in sustainable construction in several respects.

Apart from the stairwells and the road surface, it is made entirely from timber. This saves a lot of carbon and even acts as a carbon store. The decision to use screw connections and not to use composites means that the construction can be easily dismantled and the materials reused. But what makes a building sustainable is having as long a useful life as possible, so the planners and the municipal authorities have already prepared for a future with fewer cars. For example, the generously sized parking decks have already been designed to a height that is suitable for repurposing as a residential or work space. The central ramp unit can be removed from above, storey by storey, to give way instead to a courtyard that introduces light into the interior. The distinctive timber beam structure, natural materials and greened façade all create lasting quality – for future living in a house that was once a multi-storey car park.

»The timber car park is an innovative project that focuses on recyclable materials and simple constructions. It is already attracting attention throughout Europe and can make a pioneering contribution to the IBA,« says Karin Lang, Managing Director of IBA’27. IBA’27 Artistic Director Andreas Hofer: »In contrast to expensive underground car parks, a car park like this can easily be used for other purposes or dismantled again. This makes it a bridge to a time when cities are increasingly freeing themselves from the burden of the car. It is a shining example of how we can respond to the uncertainties of the future with simple means – and thus also exemplary for the mobility issues in our many neighborhood projects.«

With the Wendlinger Holzparkhaus, the building exhibition now has 24 IBA’27 projects and more than 100 projects in the IBA’27 network. The exhibition program will be curated from the entire portfolio shortly before the presentation year 2027. Despite the current construction crisis, the IBA managers see good potential for around 45 projects and schemes to become part of the exhibition, many of them large and complex neighborhood developments. According to the current status, around 20 will be substantially completed.

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