Lange Berge service area, Coburg

For the first time, in 2013, the Autobahndirektion Nordbayern (motorway directorate of northern Bavaria) issued a public tender to submit concepts for the preliminary planning of a service area as part of an “interdisciplinary competition”. The goal of the Autobahndirektion here was to find an optimum solution for the design of traffic facilities and recreational areas in cooperation with landscape architects and traffic planners. Another aim was to achieve better acceptance of the facilities among the neighbouring communities.

The special competition requirement from the perspective of traffic planning was to plan – for one driving direction – “only” one car park with a WC and in the other driving direction a “complete” service area with a motorway restaurant, a petrol station and parking spaces. Both facilities, however, were to be connected to one another with the help of a crossing structure.

Of the 15 groups of participants admitted to the competition by drawing lots, two first prizes were awarded, to the team of brugger landschaftsarchitekten, Aichach, and Ingenieurbüro Mayr, Aichach, and to the team of realgrün, Munich, and Dr. Brenner Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH, Aalen. The winning design by the brugger landscape architect office have now been commissioned with the project realisation. The jury appreciated the approach taken by this design, as it offered a “pleasant simplicity”. There will be a park for drivers who stop there, which will be both impactful and useful, and will stand out from the local surroundings.

The positive response to the competition among the local population and specialists demonstrates the project’s role model function for future infrastructure planning. Aspects of landscape and spatial planning were not only considered at an early stage but were also seen to be just as important as the traffic planning requirements. A special strength of the competition lies in the great number of possible solutions that were put forward, which far exceeded the typical provision of furnishings.

This project was presented as part of the 2015 Baukultur Workshops in Regensburg.