Concrete slabs as a common element

The municipality of Nordheim – also called „gateway to the Zabergau region“ – is situated just about 15 minutes by car from the city of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg/Germany. The proximity to the major city and the attractive location between the Neckar River and the vineyards in the well-known Heuchelberg wine-growing area contributed to the fact that the number of inhabitants has been continuously rising recently. If the number had been just below 7,000 people 20 years ago, the municipality has some 8,500 inhabitants today. Since this also led to a constantly growing municipal administration, the local council decided to adapt the capacity of the town hall to the growing need. The outcome is a refurbished old building with a new extension. Concrete slabs are the common element of the two building structures.

The construction works for the extension of the historical town hall started in the middle of 2018. The heritage-protected building was fully refurbished from the ground up and a new extension building was erected right beside it. The two buildings are connected with each other by two glass passageways. The new building attracts attention owing to its clinker façade with various shades of color, thus perfectly matching the sandstone building in its visual appearance as well. The energy for the building is generated by a photovoltaic system installed on the roof and a block heat and power plant in the basement.

In addition, the planners paid special attention to the landscaping of the outdoor areas. In this regard, Cornelia Biegert of the landscape architecture office with the same name located in Bad Friedrichshall stated: „A small park resulting from an old green project is situated directly behind the town hall. So far, the park was connected to the town hall through the terrace of the Rathskeller. As we intended to link the park also to the new building, the terrace had to be extended in this section accordingly. We have provided the same material here as had already been used to pave the existing terrace in order to create a harmonious whole.“

Large-sized concrete slabs made by Adolf Blatt

Large-sized concrete slabs of the Adolf Blatt concrete plant located in the nearby municipality of Kirchheim am Neckar were used for the area covering about 500 m². The large-sized, light gray concrete elements had already receded into the background discreetly underneath the sandstone-colored façade in the past. „This effect should persist,“ Cornelia Biegert explains. „The small portion of joints due to the large sizes of 80 x 80 cm transmits a certain calmness to the terrain,“ Biegert adds. As part of their customer service, it was a matter of course for the people responsible at the Blatt company to supply the concrete slabs, which had been taken from the standard product range in the mentioned size for a long time, and to provide them with the look of the lot delivered many years ago.

The new town hall complex was officially opened in Nordheim on July 25, 2020. Covering an area of 2,200 m² now, the new town hall is almost twice the size of the old one after the renovation. Even if the citizens still have to get used to the new look of the extension, at least the terrace to the park provides the familiar appearance.