JSWD — Ensembles

Architekten großen Wert darauf, den Industriecharakter der Bahnstadt mit den
Ziegelfassaden, den Kubaturen und Strukturen der Neubauten zeitgemäß
fortzuschreiben.
Campus Plant Opladen
Leverkusen
In the district of Opladen, the city of Leverkusen is practicing sustainable building
land management on a total area of more than 70 hectares. On the
grounds of a railway repair site, which was closed in 2003, the city is developing
Opladen’s New Bahnstadt, a mixed-use district that will offer residential
space and workplaces and a university campus, but also opportunities for
shopping and leisure activities. For 100 years, Opladen was a railroad town;
TH Cologne’s new campus for their Faculty of Applied Sciences will give a major
boost to structural change. The location along the train route Cologne -
Wuppertal is characteristic of Opladen and accordingly for the New Bahnstadt
as well. The area benefits from good transport links, however, its new development
needs to take this situation into account. Two new bridges connect the
west and east sides. The west side is adjacent to the historic center; the 12
acres of fallow land located here will be developed by 2020. The east side,
with the former railway repair shop, is already a few steps ahead; the a development
of the area, including the construction of housing with playgrounds
and green areas as well as the TH Cologne’s large new building, has already
begun. During the planning process, the question arose as to how to deal with
the historic industrial buildings. An economically efficient reuse was particularly
difficult to imagine, especially in the case of the large halls, which is why they
were quickly demolished. Later, after a thorough investigation, other buildings
were deemed worthy of preservation. Characteristic individual buildings such
as the boiler house, deposit, and water tower will continue to recall the history
of the place in the future, while the new constructions will strengthen its new
identity by coherently integrating references to the historic structure.
The Cube Factory 577 is being built in the center of the area east of the railway
line following plans by JSWD. The five-aisled hall complex located there was
largely demolished in 2019. Over the next few years, three new buildings and
an existing hall will be used to develop a lively and open neighborhood carefully
woven into the structure of the New Bahnstadt. Following the historical layout,
JSWD distributed the future-oriented uses to four independently developable
construction sites which are arranged around a central square like the
blades of a windmill. The office building on the Anger incorporates the historic
cube building. In the residential building at the green crossing, the apartments
are oriented toward the Green Center Park and the quiet garden courtyard; the
student accommodations are located in the district center. Thanks to the modular
design, the parking structure is gradually growing to accommodate up to
500 parking spaces. In the boarding house, which is directly connected to the
parking structure, all of the residential units are oriented toward the adjacent
Green Crossing Park to the east. The commercial building on the boulevard also
permits flexibility; it will be constructed in former railway halls 4 and 5. The
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