Küppersbusch Estates

Gelsenkirchen

In 1984, the stove and kitchen manufacturer Küppersbusch ceased production in Gelsenkirchen-Feldmark. What remained was an acute, triangular tract of land hemmed in by the Schalke-Süd freight yard, a century-old residential neighbourhood and the Art Nouveau-style buildings of the Oberschuir mine. The relinquishment of the industrial grounds made possible the development of a new housing community. An estate of 267 residences took shape upon the 7.5-hectare site and despite many builders and various building and financing arrangements, the estate shares a unifying structural style.

A defining characteristic of Szyszkowitz-Kowalski's architecture and urban planning is the rainwater concept. A tree-lined, lens-shaped green space on which the two to four-storey housing constructions arise is the core of the estate, along with the rainwater reserve and drainage area. Running from house to house, high along the facades, is a gutter system that carries most of the rainwater to the centre of the estate and feeds it to the drainage area.

The estate is interlocked with its surroundings through the open-space concept and a day-care centre at the south end. Living units are situated on plots of varying sizes. A grassy promenade forms a terrace upon a wall made from the rubble and waste from the Küppersbusch factory and forms a border between the neighbourhood and the former freight yard.

A smooth transition to the district's historical buildings is achieved by a four-storey ring construction that offers housing suitable for the elderly and that links to a collection of convenience stores. The entire estate is designed to create minimal traffic and features roads with a lower-than-usual cross-sectional profile. Community areas, located in the residential island and grouped around the central ellipse, are available to all residents of the estate. Windows in the living units face to the south.

The allocation of plots to investors occurred once the building concept and plan had been achieved. This allowed for a heterogeneous composition of residents: Publicly funded housing (68%), privately financed homes (23%), cooperative housing and privately owned residences (8%).