Gewandhausareal at the Neumarkt, Dresden

Since the baroque expansion of the Neumarkt, the site of the old Gewandhaus was not built on again, but part of the square. After considerations of rebuilding and thus the closure of the transition to the Jüdenmarkt did not lead to success, the Dresden city council decided to transform the area into a green square after a public discussion.The concept takes up the history of the site and develops the idea of a „spatial hybrid“. A plantation of cut plane trees demonstrates in its cubic effect the dimensions of the former building, but allows the square to flow through under the high treetops. Longitudinally aligned stone slabs form a contrast to the street pavement of the Neumarkt and pick up on the motif of the cloth panels that were formerly traded here. An elongated seating element is positioned on the line of the Zwinger wall that still exists underground, with a drinking fountain integrated at its end. With the „tree hall“, an urban space was created directly opposite the Frauenkirche, which takes up the character of the Old Gewandhaus as a public place of urban society. The ground floor of this „Green Town House“ becomes a meeting point and resting place, but above all offers an excellent view of the imposing church building.