Office

Peter und Lochner

Consulting engineers for civil engineering

The engineering office for Building Peter and Lochner was founded in 1965 by Jörg Peter and Georg Lochner, established initially in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt. The two founding partners had studied at the University of Stuttgart, then worked there as research assistants, and then chosen for the common step into independence. The then prevailing recession in the economy made the start not easy.

The plannings for the cement silo in Mainz-Weisenau in the year 1968 formed an important basis for the development of the office. This building type was to become an important field of activity of the office, whilst today the specialty of the office can be seen in its diversity of various project categories.

In the following years, the projects of the young practice quickly developed into various fields: the assessment and rehabilitation of historic buildings to challenging construction projects and first bridge projects. With the success at the competition for the Wieslauf Viaduct in Schorndorf, decided in 1989, the office established itself at a high level in the field of bridge construction. Furthermore, the projects included industrial facilities, silos and storage, projects in civil engineering and towers. The office developed during the following years into a traditional engineering office for building industry, which accompanies and develops a wide range of projects.


Office History

The plannings for the construction of a silo in Nice, France was the first order from abroad in the year 1972, followed by a project in Mason City, USA, in 1979. Numerous other foreign projects were to follow in this field. Today the office’s projects in the field of silos, storages, tanks and industrial plants spread almost the entire globe.

The founding partners became proof engineers in 1974, and following this they brought their expertise into various professional bodies and associations. In 1977, the first scientific paper “J. Peter, G. Lochner: design, structural analysis, and construction of clinker storages – remarks concerning the analysis of silo walls” was published, to be followed by numerous other publications. The project experiences culminated in a contribution in the “Silo Manual”, which was published in 1988.

The new buildings are for the kiln line 8 at the Lengerich cement plant mark project “highlight” in the field of industrial constructions. The ensemble of bucket-tower, multi-compartment silo, preheater tower and numerous other affiliated buildings was honored in 2002 with a recognition in the context of the awarding of the “In-genieurbaupreis”. Another highlight is the silo of the Schapfenmühle company in Ulm. The spatial restrictions, the high storage capacity and complex geometries and load cases make this silo unique. 


The area of bridge construction was continuously followed by the office after having won the first important bridge competition. Road bridges as well as small pedestrian and cyclist bridges complete the project range of the office. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1994, first projects for the DEGES – Deutsche Einheit Fernstrassenplanungs- and-bau GmbH – took off. Wide-span road bridges such as the 1km long bridge over the Reichenbach and the bridge over the Dultenaugraben were realized. A highlight of the office’s bridge projects was the distinction of the German bridge design prize – Deutscher Brückenbaupreis – category pedestrian and cyclist bridges, for the La-Ferté-bridge in Stuttgart, a bridge in an integral construction, in 2006. Other realized bridges in integral design enhanced the experience of the office in this area.



Towers

The construction of towers as another specialty of the office was a launched in 1996 by winning a competition for a family of airport towers for the DFS German Air Traffic Control. The task was a concept for various airport towers at several sites, which should be distinguished through a common recognition, a “corporate identity”. The Stuttgart architectural firm Ondra and Heinzelmann with static-constructive advice of the office Peter and Lochner won this competition.

To date, distinctive tower new buildings in Hannover, Leipzig, Dusseldorf, Berlin and Frankfurt have been realized under the joint planning of these offices. These projects clearly show the successful collaboration of architects and civil engineers, further engineers, contractors and dedicated client.


In the field of building construction, the experience of the office support the implementation of structures in architecture, both in its planning as well as in the structural engineering inspection as proof engineers. The increasing complexity of building projects influences their plannings: the structure of a building merges increasingly with architecture, technical building equipment, fire protection, manufacture and installation and other aspects. Moreover, more and more buildings are being realized in difficult environments concerning subsoil or structural restraings, and increasingly developed in three-dimensional geometries. All these developments are accompanied by the office with the most modern tools in design, analysis and construction planning.

The long-standing and experienced partners Peter Bock, Dieter Lippold and Roland Wetzel received in 1999 and 2000 recognition as proof engineers for structural analysis and have been appointed as managing partners.

The year 1999 marked the handover of the office line into the next generation. Martin Hertenstein and Christoph Wentz were appointed as shareholders with single procuration. In 2009 Irmgard Lochner-Aldinger, since 2007 Professor of Structural Engineering in the degree program Architecture Biberach University, became an associate partner. Bridges, buildings, historical buildings, industrial plants, silos and storage, civil engineering and towers are today still present in the professional practice of the office.