From fashion house to tourism experience
The former Breitling department store at Stuttgart’s market square is set to become the “House of Tourism.” The concept revolves around transforming the building into an open, vibrant centre for Stuttgart’s citizens and guests. It is carefully integrated into the peripheral development of Stuttgart’s market square and features a sustainable, adaptable, and future-oriented building concept.
After the war, Stuttgart’s market square was rebuilt on the historic city layout without rebuilding the surrounding buildings, which had been heavily damaged. Today, the two large building volumes of the town hall and the Breuninger department stores contrast with a small-scale structure of commercial buildings on the northern edge, reflecting the style of the 1950s. The design incorporates this fragmentation and transfers it to the facade facing the market square. It appears open and transparent and provides an insight into all storeys of the building’s interior.
To underline the new hospitality of the building, the main entrance, which was previously located on Marktstrasse, now faces the market square. The open, inviting character continues inside: The entire ground floor is designed as an overall tourist experience, featuring a culinary section, which is also intended to revitalise the market square, and the i-Punkt with a presentation of the various tourist attractions in Stuttgart, the region, and the state of Baden-Württemberg. The upper floors will house conference rooms and offices for Stuttgart-Marketing GmbH and Tourismus-Marketing Baden-Württemberg GmbH. The roof is also to be used for catering purposes.
The building’s comprehensive, sustainable, and future-oriented transformation will do justice to its future significance as a representative showcase for the city of Stuttgart and the tourism region. It will set the stage for the market square as a central tourist attraction.
Project information
Name: “House of Tourism”
Location: Stuttgart
Project type: Conversion
Client: Stuttgart Marketing GmbH
Completion: 2024
Planning partners: CBRE (project management), Ippolito Fleitz Group (interior design), Koeber Landschaftsarchitektur (outdoor facilities), EGS-Plan (HVAC and building physics) IG Wörtz (electrical), Macom (media planning), IGW Ingenieurgruppe Walter + Partner (kitchen planning) Endreß Ingenieurgesellschaft (fire protection) IGG Gölkel (structural planning), Candela gmbh lighting design (lighting planning), IFP Weber mit Rainer Neumann (facade planning)
Project team: Raphael Dietz, Bernhard Heinnickel, Marta Martínez Méndez, Manuel Martinez, Laura Palamattam, Tugce Sahin, Matthias Wachter
Visualizations: asp Architekten / atsy
