Graf-Zeppelin-Haus

The Graf-Zeppelin-Haus opened in Friedrichshafen in 1985 on the shore of Lake Constance. Its facilities comprise four halls, nine conference rooms and approximately 3,700 square metres of exhibition space. The Hugo-Eckener-Saal is the principal multipurpose hall, accompanied by rooms named after other figures associated with the city's industrial history. The building accommodates concerts, dance, theatre, conferences and civic events. Since its opening, it has used lake water for heating and cooling, a system included in its later programme of energy renovation. Its listed architecture and lakeside setting form part of a complex designed to connect public performances with congress and reception facilities. The idea was raised at a town meeting in Friedrichshafen in 1964; the council commissioned the design in 1978 and the house opened in October 1985, on the lakefront beside the yacht harbour, to a low-slung design by the Stuttgart architects Breuning and Büchin. The Hugo-Eckener-Saal covers 1,300 square metres and takes up to 1,300 people, with eight smaller halls around it. It is both the town's congress centre and the main stage of a cultural office programming some 300 events a year.