Stuttgart Trade Fair Center - New Paul Horn Hall officially opened

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12th Jan, 2018
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The construction phases for Hall 10 and the Entrance West of the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre have been completed on schedule – CMT 2018 first event in the new building.
 
153 metres long, 95 metres wide, in the middle almost 17 metres high and 14,600 square metres in surface area - these are the impressive figures for the new Paul Horn Hall, the tenth trade fair hall in Stuttgart. This corresponds roughly to the size of two football pitches. Numbers with a wow effect. "68-metre-wide laminated timber beams span the central nave of the three-nave hall. They give the building, which gets a lot of natural daylight, special grace and elegance," says Kai Bierich, the responsible architect and Managing Director at wulf architekten, the firm that designed the hall. Ulrich Kromer, President and CEO of Messe Stuttgart, is in particular delighted that "the entire construction phase was completed on schedule and we were able to keep to both the deadline and the stated costs."
 
Before this could be achieved, there was a great deal to do, for the Entrance West was rebuilt and significantly enlarged. Thus, the symmetry of the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre, which was already outlined in the first draft of the competition in 2000 and whose implementation was prevented by the excessive costs, has been achieved in the second expansion stage. The costs of the expansion amount to around 67.5 million Euro. "For the shareholders there was never any question about giving the go-ahead. Since its relocation to the Fildern, Messe Stuttgart has developed to become a very successful company. Accordingly, it can therefore finance the costs from its own funds. There were no subsidies from the city or the state," says Michael Föll, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Messe Stuttgart, emphatically.
 
There are now five trade fair halls harmoniously arranged on a north-south axis along each side of the Rothaus Park, which has been extended by 55 metres. Two equivalent entrance areas, East and West, with congress rooms and restaurants, now make possible the balanced development of the trade fair site from two sides. The advantage: Visitor flows for different events can be separated and guided more easily, and the routes are more compact and shorter.
 
The new Entrance West is around 65 metres long, 50 metres wide and ten metres high – thus providing a surface area that can accommodate around 1500 people. Directly adjacent is the new "Restaurant im Westen" with around 90 seats. On the first floor, additional conference rooms were added, allowing meetings to take place in the direct vicinity of the hall. The great transparency provided by the large amount of glass in the entrance area and the new restaurant ensures a spacious and airy atmosphere. "The natural influx of light saves energy, promotes emotional well-being and prevents trade fair fatigue from the outset," says Bierich, expressing his conviction regarding the concept.
 
The same applies for the new building of the Paul Horn Hall. Exactly as with the existing trade fair halls, transparency plays a major role, and is achieved by means of the natural influx of light via lateral skylights. Should the direct sunlight be too strong, or if an event requires it, the hall can be completely darkened by means of a special shading system. Another feature that was retained is the layer and displacement ventilation system in combination with jet nozzles, which has already proved a success in the other halls. Otherwise, the original draft for the hall architecture was not simply taken over, but re-interpreted. "After ten years, it would not have been believable that the architecture had not developed further during this period," says Bierig as an explanation for this decision. The roof was given its own completely new, striking profile with its curved shape of wooden construction. In addition, the Paul Horn Hall is the first trade fair hall in Stuttgart to be equipped with energy-saving LED lamps.
 
The wooden roof construction was at the same time the greatest challenge for the three-nave hall. The two lateral naves and the roof of the central nave are supported by a steel construction consisting of Gerber beams and supports, and the main roof itself was designed using the laminated timber beam method. Transportation of the 47 laminated timber beams for the central nave of the new building was extremely difficult. The 68-metre-long carriers - each in three sections - were transported on low-bed trucks to the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre at night. They came from Osnabrück and the east of Germany. Long distances were travelled, and could often only be undertaken with road blocks along the route. The final major challenge was the assembly and skilful installation of the sections using heavy-duty cranes.
 
As in the other halls, in the floor there are special channels which accommodate the ducts for pipes and cables for electricity, compressed air, water and telecommunications. Roughly 1650 spotlights and lamps are installed on the ceiling. Around 11 kilometres of lines were needed just for the technical building equipment. Eight room climate units in the air handling systems condition the hall climate and heat or cool a total of around 360,000 cubic metres of air. A total of 16 kilometres of main cables were laid for the medium voltage supply to distribute electrical energy to the actual power grid. The 220 V electrical installations need 170 kilometres of cables, with another 52 kilometres for low current, fire alarm devices and controls.
 
The total construction period lasted just over two years, which was just under the time scheduled. During this time, around 1150 site ID passes were issued. Skilled workers from over 40 companies were active on location, of whom many were from Baden-Württemberg. All the main work was completed on schedule. In spring this year, remaining minor work on the outer façade and planting work around the Paul Horn Hall will be completed.
 
If you now want to have a look at the new section of the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre, you will have the opportunity from Saturday, 13 January 2018. "Next weekend we will open the Paul Horn Hall with CMT 2018, the world's biggest travel trade fair. Its subsidiary trade fair "Cycling & Adventure Holidays with Hiking" will inaugurate the new hall," says Ronald Bleinroth, President of Messe Stuttgart. "With this new hall, the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre has increased its total hall surface area from the previous 105,200 to 120,000 square metres. We therefore expect a new turnover record of over 180 million Euro for the current year 2018," his colleague Kromer adds.

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