Leubinger Fürstenhügel, Motorway Services

Leubinger Fürstenhügel, Motorway Services

Rest area redesigned: Building culture for mobility

“The motorway service area acts as a gateway to the StadtLand, providing visitors with an opportunity to step away from the unrelenting flow of the motorway and engage with the local surroundings for recreation and to connect with its services area. The stopover marks a new kind of post-oil infrastructure for Thuringia.”
Prof. Andreas Wolf, former member of the IBA Thüringen Advisory Board 

In the immediate vicinity of an important archaeological site from the early Bronze Age, a new concept for a modern motorway service station is being built at ‘Leubinger Fürstenhügel’ on the A71 motorway.

In 2015, an interdisciplinary design competition was held for the design of the motorway services area that encompassed architecture, landscape design and communications design so that the ensemble of services buildings will be optimally embedded in the context of the gently undulating hilly landscape and its historical background. The petrol and services station should serve as “a window to the region”.

The Europe-wide competition was developed as model for improving the qualities of such infrastructure facilities.

Winning design for the 'Leubinger Fürstenhügel' service station by MONO Architekten, Planorama Landschaftsarchitekten and DAS MOMENT Kommunikationsdesign.

The architecture of the motorway services and rest area enters into a dialogue with the surrounding landscape and rich history of the site.
Its design is restrained and clear, on the one hand to create a calm, relaxing atmosphere to counteract the dynamics of the motorway, and on the other to avoid competing visually with the historical Bronze Age burial mound of the Fürstenhügel that gives it its name. Site plan: MONO Architekten, Planorama Landschaftsarchitekten and DAS MOMENT Kommunikationsdesign.

The building itself is a long bar in the landscape that turns a corner, one half covering the petrol pumps and roadway like a large portal, the other half oriented eastwards creating a visual reference to the burial mound of the Fürstenhügel. This section contains the rest area and restaurant spaces.

A covered colonnaded walkway down one side of the complex acts as a sheltered distributor linking the various public functions, the shop and service area. An adjoining glass foyer serves as a central contact point providing information on the Fürstenhügel. At the north-east end, the walkway continues on into a footpath that leads to the Fürstenhügel.

In September 2017, Shell Deutschland GmbH was awarded the concession holder of the motorway service and had the winning design of the interdisciplinary planning competition and the recommendations of the IBA Thuringia implemented. On successful completion of the award procedure, the Federal Government and the State of Thuringia completed the project by constructing the award-winning outdoor facilities. Shell and DEGES commissioned the competition winners to implement their designs: Shell for the motorway service station, DEGES for the outdoor facilities. Construction of the service station began in October 2018. Construction of the Leubinger Fürstenhügel motorway services on behalf of DEGES Deutsche Einheit Fernstraßenplanungs- und bau GmbH and Shell Deutschland GmbH has been completed. The motorway service station and the exhibition were put into operation on March 30, 2021. The ceremonial overall commissioning took place on October 7, 2021.

Shell Deutschland GmbH will operate the facility for at least 30 years.

Dates 

Momentan keine Termine

Location 
Germany
Main Partners
Collaborative partners
  • ​IBA Thüringen
Involved in Planning Process
IBA Project Coordination

Ulrike Rothe
Project director
Phone +49 3643 90088-12
ulrike.rothe@iba-thueringen.de