Potsdam, the capital of the state of Brandenburg, had to wait a long time for its theater building. In the last days of the war, in April 1945, the old stage was destroyed by bombing, and since then the troupe was forced to wander from one temporary theater "dwelling" to another, until the Council of Ministers of the GDR decided in 1985 to build a new house for it. in the very center of Potsdam.
But in 1991 this building, although the construction work was almost completed by that time, was demolished, as it did not fit into the new urban planning concept of Alter Markt, developed after the unification of Germany. In its place there used to be a royal palace, which was planned to be recreated (today it was built and housed the Landtag, the Brandenburg parliament). However, on the same square in the same 1991, a temporary building was erected for the theater, where he spent the next 15 years.
But the end of wandering was near. In 1995, an architectural competition was held for the design of the new building, which was won by Pritzker laureate Gottfried Boehm. Construction began in March 2003, and since September 2006 the theater has been giving regular performances in the new building.
Impressive dynamic shape
The new building is located far from where one would expect to find a theater: not in the historical center, not in a city park, but in seclusion, on a peninsula protruding into Lake Tifersee. The theater became part of the reconstructed Schiffbauergasse industrial zone, where various institutions of culture, education and "creative industry" have now appeared at the water's edge.
About a third of the structure is covered by three "bowls" that make up its bright red roof. They are located one above the other, forming a semicircle. The lower "bowl" bends over the foyer, and the upper two cover the auditorium from above.
Imperceptible from the land side behind the rectangular volume of the stage and the technical and administrative premises located behind it, the roof opens in its fullness from the side of the lake, opening its far-out structure, like wings grown on a strict "cube". The convex and concave edges of the overlapping "bowls" extend down to terraces descending to the water.
The production of the formwork and the formulation of the concrete for the roof, as well as the concrete work itself, were particularly challenging in terms of both planning and execution. Tailor-made solutions were required since the three roof sections mentioned have a slope of up to 45 °. The design and implementation of roof waterproofing on surfaces as steep as this project also required a lot of effort. Test surfaces (mockups) at a scale of 1: 1 were made in such a way that all factors, down to the smallest detail, were taken into account when selecting suitable materials.
According to the architect's idea, the color scheme of the three bowls (600, 700 and 1000 square meters, respectively) should correspond to the facade of the already completed cubic wing. To implement this idea, it took a series of test applications.
Modern building material as a solution
The functional layers of the roof waterproofing - vapor barrier, mineral wool insulation (with a bituminous coating on the upper side) - were laid on the adhesive layer or mechanically fixed. A bituminous ("bearing") layer was placed on top of the thermal insulation for waterproofing Triflex ProTect - a liquid polymer waterproofing material based on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). All junctions and assemblies were waterproofed without seams and joints using the Triflex ProDetail system.
The reliability and efficiency of the material has been proven over decades of successful use. The waterproofing system with an integrated reinforcement layer has the European Technical Approval (ETA) for the highest performance categories, meets the requirements of the European Building Materials Regulation (CE marking), as well as the German Building Materials Act; included in the list of building materials (Bauregelliste) and part II of the List of building codes and regulations of the German Building Authority. In keeping with the architect's vision, a Triflex topcoat in bright red was chosen and applied over the waterproofing. This color was specially developed by Triflex specialists for this object.
Liquid polymeric materials are designed in such a way that, with a high degree of elasticity, they also exhibit increased strength characteristics. This means that the functionality and reliability of the system is maintained even under dynamic loads: movements of the building structure, vibrations, contraction stresses arising from temperature changes. Waterproofing with liquid polymeric materials meets the highest requirements when it comes to the geometry of the building structure. Liquid waterproofing already in the factory is made thixotropic, which excludes slipping of the freshly applied layer from practically vertical surfaces. Regardless of the shape of the building, the installation of liquid polymer waterproofing is always an economical and technically reliable solution.
About the work performed:
- Area: three "bowls" of the roof with a total area of 2300 m²
- Waterproofing: Triflex ProTect (surface), Triflex ProDetail (abutments)
- Performer of works: Penzel Dachsysteme GmbH, city of Butzow (Germany)
Work order:
- Substrate preparation: removal of fragile elements
- Priming: not required
- Node waterproofing: Triflex ProDetail
- Surface waterproofing: Triflex ProTect
- Seal: Triflex Cryl Finish 205 (special color)
