Europan Germany

Scale 
L/S

Team Composition 
Architect mandatory

Location 
Speichersdorf, Bavaria

Population 
5,907 inhabitants

Reflection site 
245 ha

Project site A: Festival Hall
0,9 ha 

Project site B: Railway station area
25 ha 

Project site C: Open spaces
25 ha

Site proposed by 
Speichersdorf municipality

Actors involved 
Municipality of Speichersdorf, Deutsche Bahn, private partners

Owner(s) of the site 
Municipality of Speichersdorf, Deutsche Bahn, private owners

Commission after competition 
The results will be discussed, refined and further developed in workshops. Planned are the following steps shortly after the competition:
- A structural engineering feasibility study for the festival hall, 
- Planning for the mobility station, including open spaces,
- Urban-development framework planning to refine the train
station area and interior development areas. 

Commissioning the winning teams is desired but requires approval from the local government municipal council for any commission.

 

Competition task
For Speichersdorf, the aim is to identify and realize exemplary solutions that strengthen the resilience of the municipality vis-à-vis demographic changes, economic upheavals, and the effects of climate change. What are sought are model-like projects that can serve as an initial spark and engine for the transformation of the entire region of Upper Franconia.

The municipality, with its 5,907 residents, is located in the Upper Palatinate in the Free State of Bavaria in southern Germany. The location is a region of gently rolling hills with meadows and areas shaped by agriculture, embedded in forested areas. Speichersdorf is part of the Nuremburg metropolitan region. The closest cities, Bayreuth (75,000 residents) and Nuremburg (518,000 residents), can be reached by train or car in fourteen and sixty minutes.

The participants can choose from three elaboration areas: 
A) For the former festival hall, concrete architectural proposals for repurposing the construction of the hall and finding a new use for the building should be developed. 
B) At the historical railway station, proposals for an innovative, sustainable, and vibrant district with modern forms of housing and building typologies and alternative mobility are sought. 
C) An overall strategy should be elaborated for the multifaceted open spaces in the centre of the municipality. 

Speichersdorf is looking for participants who deal with the existing building and space resources in a respectful and careful manner and develop them further for other small municipalities. For the three optional tasks, the following questions should be responded to both conceptually and spatially:

The festival hall as a building resource
What potentials does the festival hall offer? What uses and forms of operation are possible considering the existing structure of the building? How can the spatial qualities and the special architectural features be further developed conceptually and structurally? How can a revitalization take place with minimal interventions and inexpensive measures?

The railway station site as a building and space resource
How does a future-oriented district with innovative living concepts look? What typologies and urban spaces does this interior development require in order to create specific qualities? How can the railway station site give rise to an identify-forming location that links the two parts of the municipality with one another? How can the historical railway station become a lively location in the municipality once again? How can a mobility hub with attractive areas for spending time be designed?

Open areas as a space resource
What role can the open areas inside the municipality play in the future? What contribution can they make to topics such as climate adaptation, biodiversity, and local food supply? What area potentials can be shown for housing development? 

Site visit and questions
April 4, 2025, 10:00 a.m. to approx. 1:00 p.m.
Meeting point: In front of the festival hall,
Hauptstraße / Schulstraße
95469 Speichersdorf

 

Image Credits
(Fig. 1) Geobasisdaten: Bayrische Vermessungsverwaltung © Bayerische Vermessungsverwaltung 2025, Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie; www.bayernatlas.de
(Fig. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) © Thomas Müller, M.A., freier Fotograf, Weimar