High-tech plate from Dillinger Hütte used for new exhibition facilities and car-park in Stuttgart – European Steel Design Prize for Dillingen projects

Dillinger Hütte supplied close to 5,000 tonnes of heavy steel plate for the construction of the new pavilions and the adjoining multi-deck car-park. Steel from Dillingen was used primarily in the box-girder truss structure of the car-park and Hall 1, the so-called high-rise pavilion, with its 25,000 m² of display space the largest exhibition pavilion in southern Germany. Work at Germany's largest construction site was completed in October of 2007, and the total of nine exhibition halls have already hosted their first events. Over 10,000 workers and no less than 1,000 different companies have been involved in the project since work began in September, 2004, with construction costs totaling more than 800 million €. European Steel Design Prize for projects involving Dillingen plate products The "New Exhibition Grounds Stuttgart Car-park" was awarded the European Steel Design Prize for Germany in Luxemburg on September 13. The special feature of the car-park, located close to the exhibition facilities and the airport, is that it spans for 100 m the A8 autobahn - one of Germany's busiest freeways - and the adjacent high-speed rail line. Viewed from the air, the two imposing buildings form the "Victory" symbol. The new facility, with more than 125,000 m² of parking space, can accommodate some 4,000 vehicles. Also honoured by the award of a European Steel Design Prize were two other projects completed using plate material supplied by Dillinger Hütte and its 100% subsidiary GTS Industries: the Pont Gustave Flaubert– the world's largest vertical lift bridge – in Rouen, Normandy, and the Simone de Beauvoir footbridge over the Seine in Paris. The Gustave Flaubert bridge permits clearances of 55 m for shipping, with two central elements, each of 100 m in length, that can be raised on the steel towers. Dillinger Hütte supplied some 2,500 tonnes of heavy plate for this superlative project. The Simone de Beauvoir bridge charms observers with its filigree elegance: it has a length of 304 m and a cantilever centre span of 190 m, with no additional piers, and permits transition across the River Seine on a lower and an upper deck. Dillinger Hütte and GTS Industries provided the designers and architects with important supporting services to make possible the slender design that is the optimum for this structure.