Popular Theatre

Rostock, 2019 / 3rd prize

A shimmering glass cube stands as a solitaire at the entrance to the city center and, together with the hotel opposite, forms the gateway to Lange Straße. To the same extent that the building is integrated into the urban body through its placement in the city plan, through the inclusion of alignment lines and the moderate height development, it shows itself to be an elevated special building through the materiality of the façade, the sculptural treatment and the non-readable storeyedness.

A translucent covering made of glass blocks veils the building and dematerializes it during the day by reflecting the light on the surface of the façade. At night, the inner spatial sculpture developed from the access routes and foyers turns into a magical glow in the urban space and invites the people of Rostock to the new Popular Theatre. The inner room sculpture runs through the building as a ring-shaped, closed sequence of foyers and their cenitally lit, spacious connecting staircases. Together with the restaurant, the foyers each occupy an outer side of the building, thus emphasizing the universality of the building in space and façade.

Exterior view

Interior view

Site plan

Ground floor

First floor

Section