Stadtwerke Düsseldorf, the city’s public utility company, operates a modern, highly efficient power plant on its Lausward site, which is surrounded on three sides by the Rhine and lies directly adjacent to existing power plant units. The architectural theme for the new build resulted from a facade design competition held by the city: a series of tall frames form the visible envelope of the whole plant and bring them together to create the overall form. Groups of similarly sized elements make the power plant components beneath legible, while special frames add excitement and rhythm to the elevation.
The most prominent and largest element is a stack enclosure, which is glazed on two sides and carries a visitor platform at 40 metres above ground. This “City Window” is turned 15° relative to the power plant and therefore provides an inner-city vista. The steel-frame structure and thermal envelope of the halls comply with the normal standards applied to power plant construction. Only the outer skin was adapted by the architect and constructed from silver-coloured coated steel structural liner trays.
The most prominent and largest element is a stack enclosure, which is glazed on two sides and carries a visitor platform at 40 metres above ground. This “City Window” is turned 15° relative to the power plant and therefore provides an inner-city vista. The steel-frame structure and thermal envelope of the halls comply with the normal standards applied to power plant construction. Only the outer skin was adapted by the architect and constructed from silver-coloured coated steel structural liner trays.