Cultural planning: Dortmund's U - part 1 space planning and the right location
- Series: CREATIVE QUARTERS RUHR
The cultural conversion of the former brewery high-rise "U": a report on the change from communal object of dispute to light house project of Europe's Capital of Culture RUHR.2010
It is an important task in the Ruhr area to find new forms of use for former industrial real estate sites and locations that are currently empty due to the structural changes. It took 10 years and the influence of temporary use, city reconstruction and the activities around the European Capital of Culture for the development of the former Union brewery, which is located at the edge of Dortmund's city centre, to finally receive a full concept and a majority vote. The change experienced through culture for the cities of the Ruhr metropolitan area becomes apparent through the example of Dortmund's U - the foundation of an innovative cultural institute that provides the initial spark for its surrounding quarter. A report in 5 parts describes the process.
From the company logo to Dortmund's U
The high-rise of the former Union brewery that was used as fermentation and storage building is the centre of an urban waste land that remained in a dormant state since the brewery quit using it at the beginning of the 1990s. The building is currently being developed as competence centre for the creative industry of the Ruhr metropolitan area. The golden 9-metre tall "U" catches everyone's attention and it gave the building its name. At night, the former company logo is lit and decorates the massive roof of the tower. As an architectonic landmark of Dortmund, the U faced a long-term cultural planning process that was full of conflict. It has developed from an unused remainder of a formerly well-known international brewery location to a symbol for the cultural and creative focus of city and regional planning. In the course of this, the cultural planning process around Dortmund's U is based on two different plans: thematically, it is based on the expansion plan of the Ostwall-museum; location-based it refers to the new-to-be-found allocation of use of the area belonging to the U.
Ostwall-museum too small
Since the end of the Second World War, the Ostwall-museum has been known as an important establishment for 20th century art - even on a supra-regional level. The building used by the museum ever since, the former "Oberbergamt", needs large-scale renovation. In particular the damp cellar - currently used as the archive - presents a big risk for the museum's collection. In addition, the house became to small for the museum. In the year 1990, for the first time, the Ostwall-museum presented a museum development plan for the necessary measures of the establishment - in particular its expansion plans in terms of space. The instrument of a museum development plan gave the museum's claims - which had been part of the political debate since the establishment's beginnings - the necessary formality and specific definition to help build the necessary pressure to put the plan into practice.
Alternative locations in Dortmund
In this context, the municipal administration started looking for potential new locations that might come into question for a relocation as an alternative to reconstruction. Among others, one of the locations considered was the high-rise of the former Union brewery, the so called U-Tower. Thick walls and only a few windows as well as the size of the gross floor surface area suited the space required according to the museum's plan. At that time, however, it had not been fully clarified if the entire site of the U - the unused space around the U-Tower - was to be developed into a location for special health services or large-scale retail trade. In the 1990s and 2000s, the city of Dortmund regarded three inner city areas as suitable for large-scale retail trade: the main station, the area surrounding the U and the Thier area (also a former brewery within the city centre that was used by night clubs). In the 1990s, the owner of the U-area - the Brau and Brunnen GmbH, tried developing the site itself. In doing so, a design plan was developed by Richard Roger which aimed at building a block perimeter development around the U-Tower. The development plan of 1996 intended to incorporate large-scale retail trade as development use. Yet the master construction plan was stopped in 2002 due to the retail trade plans for the main station (project 3DO). The uncertain city development plans were paralysed in the planning process for the area of the U.
Related videos:
Related blogs:
Go to channel:
It is an important task in the Ruhr area to find new forms of use for former industrial real estate sites and locations that are currently empty due to the structural changes. It took 10 years and the influence of temporary use, city reconstruction and the activities around the European Capital of Culture for the development of the former Union brewery, which is located at the edge of Dortmund's city centre, to finally receive a full concept and a majority vote. The change experienced through culture for the cities of the Ruhr metropolitan area becomes apparent through the example of Dortmund's U - the foundation of an innovative cultural institute that provides the initial spark for its surrounding quarter. A report in 5 parts describes the process.
From the company logo to Dortmund's U
The high-rise of the former Union brewery that was used as fermentation and storage building is the centre of an urban waste land that remained in a dormant state since the brewery quit using it at the beginning of the 1990s. The building is currently being developed as competence centre for the creative industry of the Ruhr metropolitan area. The golden 9-metre tall "U" catches everyone's attention and it gave the building its name. At night, the former company logo is lit and decorates the massive roof of the tower. As an architectonic landmark of Dortmund, the U faced a long-term cultural planning process that was full of conflict. It has developed from an unused remainder of a formerly well-known international brewery location to a symbol for the cultural and creative focus of city and regional planning. In the course of this, the cultural planning process around Dortmund's U is based on two different plans: thematically, it is based on the expansion plan of the Ostwall-museum; location-based it refers to the new-to-be-found allocation of use of the area belonging to the U.
Ostwall-museum too small
Since the end of the Second World War, the Ostwall-museum has been known as an important establishment for 20th century art - even on a supra-regional level. The building used by the museum ever since, the former "Oberbergamt", needs large-scale renovation. In particular the damp cellar - currently used as the archive - presents a big risk for the museum's collection. In addition, the house became to small for the museum. In the year 1990, for the first time, the Ostwall-museum presented a museum development plan for the necessary measures of the establishment - in particular its expansion plans in terms of space. The instrument of a museum development plan gave the museum's claims - which had been part of the political debate since the establishment's beginnings - the necessary formality and specific definition to help build the necessary pressure to put the plan into practice.
Alternative locations in Dortmund
In this context, the municipal administration started looking for potential new locations that might come into question for a relocation as an alternative to reconstruction. Among others, one of the locations considered was the high-rise of the former Union brewery, the so called U-Tower. Thick walls and only a few windows as well as the size of the gross floor surface area suited the space required according to the museum's plan. At that time, however, it had not been fully clarified if the entire site of the U - the unused space around the U-Tower - was to be developed into a location for special health services or large-scale retail trade. In the 1990s and 2000s, the city of Dortmund regarded three inner city areas as suitable for large-scale retail trade: the main station, the area surrounding the U and the Thier area (also a former brewery within the city centre that was used by night clubs). In the 1990s, the owner of the U-area - the Brau and Brunnen GmbH, tried developing the site itself. In doing so, a design plan was developed by Richard Roger which aimed at building a block perimeter development around the U-Tower. The development plan of 1996 intended to incorporate large-scale retail trade as development use. Yet the master construction plan was stopped in 2002 due to the retail trade plans for the main station (project 3DO). The uncertain city development plans were paralysed in the planning process for the area of the U.
Related videos:
- The steel corset is gone: for the opening with Adolf Winkelmann, the "U" building in Dortmund is relieved of its scaffold
- A creative motor of the future - the opening of the "U" building in Dortmund
Related blogs:
- inter-cool 3.0: interview with project director Birgit Richard - young people know a lot about their subcultures
- SENSE OF WONDER: up-and-coming artists in Dortmund's U
- Charles Landry: Expo Shanghai 2010 - Help for Better Cities?
Go to channel:
Thu, 20.01.2011
0
Similar Content
About the author
Newest comments of the author
Topic
City
Branch
Recent Tweets
