Porcelain Terrace of the city of Meissen inaugurated: Concrete elements from BFL create observation deck

In the Saxon city of Meissen in Germany, world-famous for its porcelain manufactory, the  newly constructed Porcelain Terrace was inaugurated. The structure serves tourists as viewpoint and complements the Meissen Porcelain Museum. For the structure designed by Bretschneider, a local architectural office, and the civil engineering firm Hantke, individually designed precast elements were manufactured by the precaster B+F Beton und Fertigteilgesellschaft mbH Lauchhammer (BFL) and installed on location.

New visitor attraction in Meissen

The Porcelain Terrace was inaugurated in the historical center of Meissen, opposite the Porcelain Museum in Böttger Park. The terrace, around three meters high, consists of various concrete elements made by BFL and offers visitors a number of seating accommodations and sources of information. The terrace was meant to serve as a new visitor attraction and affords tourists a good view of the Porcelain Museum.

Customized production of concrete elements

The terrace features a total of 22.3 m³ of colored concrete elements for the various precast concrete designs. The plant B+F Beton- und Fertigteilgesellschaft mbH Lauchhammer manufactured the elements and transported them by truck to Meissen. There, the individual elements were set up by a mobile crane, positioned and interconnected. The concrete elements are of various sizes with individual weights of up to 8 metric tons. Some of the elements are fitted with showcases displaying information on porcelain manufacture. A terrace highlight is a showcase sunk in the floor of the terrace for filling with porcelain shards.

Porcelain Terrace opened by the Mayor of Meissen

The Meissen Porcelain Terrace was dedicated on 9 July in perfect weather by Mayor Olaf Raschke and the Managing Director of the Meissen State Porcelain Manufactory GmbH, Dr. Tillmann Blaschke. In his speech, Raschke expressed his delight: “The new terrace enhances the visibility of porcelain in the cityscape and makes it more tangible – and is at the same time the starting point of the Porcelain Path, where the visitor can walk in the footsteps of the white gold.” In his greeting, Dr. Blaschke praised the unique shape of the new structure, which combines the optics of concrete and porcelain and in this way optimally complements the Porcelain Manufactory. It furthermore emphasizes the significance of porcelain as a tourist magnet for the City of Meissen and the region.

Great diversity of concrete elements from Lauchhammer

The Porcelain Terrace in Meissen is the latest successful BFL project in the area of architectural structures. The company, from southern Brandenburg, is known for its individually customized concrete products. B+F Beton- und Fertigteilgesellschaft mbH Lauchhammer, moreover, offers a versatile product portfolio of precast reinforced concrete elements for varied applications. These include railway supporting slabs, weighing facilities for railway and road vehicles, precast buildings as well as bridge elements and facility protection elements.