Entrance Neue Messe Planten un Blomen Hamburg

Seen from the stone forecourt of the trade fair, Planten un Bloomen park presents itself as a dense, closed edge of trees. This “green façade” stands in contrast to the built glass front of the exhibition halls and possesses its own elemental quality. A 70-metre-long, bent ramp cuts through the closed wooded edge. Two planar steel flanks give the ramp a third dimension and an element of sculpture. On Rentzelstrasse, one planar steel flank protrudes into the street space to mark the new access to the park – a gesture visible from afar. A plant sculpture made of exposed concrete gives ballast to the existing entrance in the north. The integrated bench invites visitors to linger, while the eye-level and eye-catching perennials in the raised bed atop the bench give a taste of the magnificent plantings awaiting in the park.

The new and old entrances are connected by a fence that curves outwards, seeming to yield to the pressure of the lush vegetation it encloses. It wraps around the park like a sash while underscoring its closedness.