Rhine Falls Visitor Center

The upstream of the castle visitors center – emerged from the former staff house extended to the south – back to rest, just at the edge of the terrace base and opened to the southwest a generous space than open-air stage for rapid gastronomy. For incoming visitors a clear view is opened to the castle. The elongated uniformly covered with clay tiles pitched roof and the sides smooth wrapping the facade reduce the overall volume to a raw primary architectural form. The brute materiality of the facade panels made ​​of weathering steel is refined by a perforation of sheets, towels stickers to remind their characteristics. The folded canopies in the south and west facades reveal the materiality of the second dark facade plane and allow simultaneously through the large glazed a deep look into the busy public areas. Committed the same simplicity are lined with larch Fensterfutterale, wall coverings and furniture in the gift shop and restaurant. , the arrangement of the program elements usually follows a typical visit process. Are the amount of covered funds and information desk and the ATM at the forefront on arrival. Immediately after forming and spatially with the cash a unit follows the spacious and flooded with light on three sides souvenir shop. In the overlying floor floor to ceiling truss lift a closed roof space in the air and in this way form a spacious multi-purpose hall that can operate autonomously thanks to private access. Downstairs the self-service restaurant follows with guest room for fast food. But actual dining room is the front terrace, the extra seats in the north with views of the nearby children’s playground and down the Rhine offers. , the sides on the terrace accessible visitor center allows the arrangement of high-traffic public restrooms on the wooded eastern side. Likewise, the service level is the concentration of the storage and technical areas in the terrace base decoupled from the audience level. Constructive overlap at the visitor center at heart, a solid construction with a wooden construction, the whole packaged with a dress made ​​of weathering steel. The heterogeneity of the story is treated as homogenized and for a good cause.