Space for offices, archives and bio-research: foundation stone laid for conversion of exhibition hall 12

The ceremony took place in the presence of the Mayor and Councillor for Urban Development and Construction Thomas Dienberg, the Mayor and Councillor for General Administration Ulrich Hürning and the Mayor and Councillor for Youth, Schools and Democracy Vicki Felthaus. Because a number of Leipzig offices are to be accommodated here.

The entire large-scale project on the historic site of the former exhibition hall 12 has a gross floor area of around 65,000 square metres and is divided into three construction phases. The foundation stone for the first construction phase for the new location of the city archive was laid in November 2016, with the opening taking place on 29 October 2019. This created the new home for the city archive in the former Soviet pavilion.

The new construction and conversion work in the second construction phase is being carried out on behalf of Leipziger Entwicklungs- und Vermarktungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Grundstücks-KG (LEVG) as the client and owner and is being coordinated and managed by the WEP Group. One of the objectives is to preserve and restore existing elements worthy of protection.

In the second construction phase, a high-quality office and archive complex with a gross floor area of around 30,000 square metres over four floors is being built. The shell of the building around the characteristically preserved steel skeleton is due to be completed by 2024 and will provide space for modern offices and counselling rooms for the Office for Youth and Family Affairs and the Office for Schools.

In addition, depot and storage areas will be built for the City History Museum and the Grassi Museum of Applied Arts, which will also serve as extension areas for the City Archive.

The demolition work for this has already begun in mid-2020. S&P Planungsgesellschaft is acting as general planner, while the company Köster GmbH is responsible for the construction of the extended shell.

The ceremonial laying of the foundation stone was attended by the respective mayors of the city of Leipzig, the managing directors of LEVG Kai Thalmann and Ralf Dieter Claus, other representatives of the city, future tenants, surrounding neighbours and the construction companies and utility companies involved.

„With Hall 12 in the second construction phase, we have an exceptional construction project at the Alte Messe in Leipzig, which not only stands out visually, but also combines the future requirements of the building complex with innovative workplaces and functional storage spaces,

The already very successful Bio-Cluster at the Alte Messe is also set to grow further. An innovation centre for biotechnology companies will therefore be created in the third construction phase of Hall 12 from next year in order to further meet the high demand for commercial and research space in BIOCITY and the BioCube for start-ups and founders.

The historic exhibition hall 12

Hall 12, which is a listed building, was designed by Oskar Pusch and Carl Krämer between 1923 and 1924 and built as a machine tool hall, the largest hall construction in Germany at the time. The portico was home to the administrative and representation offices of the "Messe- und Ausstellungs-AG", while the rest of the hall served as an exhibition space for the mechanical engineering industry.

Also known as the „Achilleion“ and „Pavilion of the Soviet Union“, the exhibition hall was later a sports venue for track cycling races and continued to serve as an exhibition space after the Second World War; the building was rebuilt between 1950 and 1952 following the example of Moscow buildings from the 1930s and the 63-metre-high tower with its golden spire, which is still visible today, was erected.

Article in the "Leipziger Zeitung" from 9 June 2023