Architecture
The Print Media Academy occupies an impressive building in the
heart of Heidelberg. But the building is not just attractive - it
is also full of metaphors and symbols that allude to printing
processes and the history of the graphic arts.
Right where the Kurfürstenanlage boulevard begins, diagonally across from the main train station, looms the 50-meter-high Print Media Academy. Above all, it is two things: modern and transparent. The Print Media Academy sees itself as an idea forge and a forum for the future. It educates and inspires not only the print media industry, but also the general public. Its foundations are openness and communicative competence, insights and understanding. And the building expresses all of these things. Just enter it, and you immediate grasp its credo: thinking requires space. From the lobby, you can look all the way up into the top level. There is room for legs to stretch and ideas to grow. The two towers containing meeting rooms clearly represent impression cylinders. And in the basement, a dome-shaped red auditorium rests in a pool of water, depicting the two most important elements in offset printing: ink and water.
Technical Data
The building was constructed between March 1998 and March 2000. It is square, measuring 37 meters on each side, and 50 meters high. The façade has a double-shell construction and the space between the shells can be entered.
Through the transparent façade, the following elements can be seen from the outside: two "impression cylinder towers" with seminar rooms, an auditorium surrounded by a pool of water, four glass lifts, escalators and the angular shapes of the office floors.
The architects of Hensel-Bechtloff-Partner, Hamburg;
H.J. Schröder, architect BDA/Partner H.P. Stichs, Heidelberg
Project management:
H.P. Stichs, architect; B. Wondra, architect
Right where the Kurfürstenanlage boulevard begins, diagonally across from the main train station, looms the 50-meter-high Print Media Academy. Above all, it is two things: modern and transparent. The Print Media Academy sees itself as an idea forge and a forum for the future. It educates and inspires not only the print media industry, but also the general public. Its foundations are openness and communicative competence, insights and understanding. And the building expresses all of these things. Just enter it, and you immediate grasp its credo: thinking requires space. From the lobby, you can look all the way up into the top level. There is room for legs to stretch and ideas to grow. The two towers containing meeting rooms clearly represent impression cylinders. And in the basement, a dome-shaped red auditorium rests in a pool of water, depicting the two most important elements in offset printing: ink and water.
Technical Data
The building was constructed between March 1998 and March 2000. It is square, measuring 37 meters on each side, and 50 meters high. The façade has a double-shell construction and the space between the shells can be entered.
Through the transparent façade, the following elements can be seen from the outside: two "impression cylinder towers" with seminar rooms, an auditorium surrounded by a pool of water, four glass lifts, escalators and the angular shapes of the office floors.
- Ground floor: lobby, auditorium for about 200 people, public café with terrace, exhibition area
- First floor: gallery and exhibition area with business lounge
- Second, third, fourth and fifth floors: rooms of various sizes for events, meetings and workshops, a gallery and communication centers
- Sixth to tenth floors: offices of Heidelberg employees
- Eleventh floor: executive meeting rooms
- Twelfth floor: "schwarz Das Restaurant"
The architects of Hensel-Bechtloff-Partner, Hamburg;
H.J. Schröder, architect BDA/Partner H.P. Stichs, Heidelberg
Project management:
H.P. Stichs, architect; B. Wondra, architect
