The supervisory board and shareholders of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH have declared their approval, and thus the starting point has been reached for one of the most ambitious construction projects in the history of the company. The plans for a complete reconstruction of the southern entrance and the adjoining Hall 1 have been definitively approved for implementation. “We can now implement our master plan for the complete modernisation and renovation of our premises, our home base", rejoices Werner M. Dornscheidt, Chairman and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, adding: “As usual, it will all be done without subsidies”.
The capital expenditure for the southern section amounts to EUR 140 million. In total, Messe Düsseldorf will invest around EUR 636 million in their premises before 2030. The work will begin after the packaging fair interpack in May 2017 and is to be completed by summer 2019. The blueprint for the work comes from the Düsseldorf based architectural company slapa oberholz pszczulny architekten.
Facing the city in a new way: the South EntranceThe new South Entrance will give Messe Düsseldorf a modern presence on the banks of the river Rhine, looking out over the city of Düsseldorf. Trade fair visitors and convention delegates will be welcomed by a new illuminated and translucent canopy, 7,800 square metres in size and around 20 metres high. This structure will be a strong architectural landmark at this highly visible point in the exhibition centre. Jurek Slapa, Managing Partner at sop architecten, comments: “The canopy will give the Messe Düsseldorf a new façade and a distinctive location at this unique position between the Rhine and the Nordpark. It will also integrate the existing convention centre and thus approach the existing structures in a sensitive manner.” The canopy will be 170 metres long and 93 metres wide, thus creating a large space for the convention and trade fair delegates to enjoy before they reach the exhibition centre and event spaces.
The façade of the South Entrance is to open onto the forecourt via a façade constructed entirely of glass, 93 metres in length. Required services such as cash desks and cloakrooms will be found in this 2,000-square-metre space. The first floor is to contain a glass-walled meeting room coming out into the foyer, affording a view of the entrance and the forecourt. In addition, the entire foyer will be available as an event location. The forecourt will also contain the entrance to the underground car park with 300 spaces as well as bus stops and a taxi rank.
The new Hall 1: available for use from 2019 onwardsThe scope of the renovation of the South Entrance also includes the reconstruction of Hall 1. To this end, Messe Düsseldorf plans to demolish the current Halls 1 and 2, which are smaller, and replace them with a new build after interpack 2017. Hall 1, measuring 158 metres by 77 metres, with over 12,000 square metres of floor space, will then be around the same size as Halls 8a and 8b. The new hall will meet the high technical standards that the entire trade fair centre is subject to. It will be accessible via 7 gates, with suspensions from the hall ceiling being as easy to configure as it is to set up stands using the hall floor. Pedestrians can use the bridge on the 1st floor to cross between the hall and the Congress Center Düsseldorf (CCD). As well as being connected to Halls 3 and 4, there will be a main route leading from the South Entrance directly to the rest of the premises.
Changes for wire 2018 and Tube 2018In 2017 and 2018, the transitioning years during which the building work will occur, the Tube exhibitors previously housed in Halls 1 and 2 will be provided with alternative, attractive stand options in halls 16 and 17. So Tube 2018 will be held in halls 3 to 7.0 and halls 16 and 17. The exhibitors of wire 2018 will present their innovations in halls 9 to 16.
The master plan for the modernisation of the trade fair centre was started in the year 2000 with the new construction of Halls 6 and 7a. Subsequently, before the end of 2016, 11 of the current 19 conference halls were either constructed completely from scratch or extensively renovated and brought up to the latest technical standards. The year 2004 was marked out as a milestone in this process with the renovation of the North Entrance and the construction of a new train station for the conference centre to link it directly to the city and thereby to Düsseldorf’s main train station (Hbf Düsseldorf) using the metropolitan rail system.
Messe Düsseldorf provides extensive information on the building work as well as many images and animations online:
http://www.messe-duesseldorf.de/bau (German);
http://www.messe-duesseldorf.com/construction (English)
