Schüngelberg Estates

Gelsenkirchen

The Schüngelberg workers' estate, a garden city designed by master builder Wilhelm Johow, was constructed between 1897 and 1919 to provide 309 apartments for miners employed at the nearby Zeche Hugo mine. The original 1916 housing concept - a circular layout with a central monument and fairground - could only be partially realised due to financial constraints. Situated between the mine, the slag heap, the wastewater canal and the railway and cut off from the main city, the estate was threatened with complete demolition in the 1970s due to its urgent need for renovation.

A renovation and expansion followed in 1988 and 1998 that were both in line with preservation laws and in keeping with the historic character of the estate. An important criterion for the remodelling of the estate lay in the commitment to quality during the reconstruction and the consideration of future tenants during the design process. In addition to the modernisation of the apartments and exterior renovations consistent with preservation laws, the renewal measures also included a redesign of the gardens and the neighbourhood surroundings.

Designs from the Swiss architect Rolf Keller supplied the basis for an expansion of the grounds of the Schüngelberg estate. A sweeping line of buildings, terraced in nature, surrounds a central green space shared by the community. The streets and sight lines, formed like a star, connect the new residences with existing estates and the surrounding landscape structures.
The architecture revives elements of historic garden-city estates. With an unusually high ratio of garden area to residences, the combination of public space with semi-public and privately used exterior space allows for the emergence of a common character between the new estates and the historic grounds.

Furthermore, the entire concept includes an enhancement of the urban and rural fabric. The bordering Rungenberg slag heaps were creatively regenerated as a recreational area and made accessible to the estates. And in a separate project, the nearby Lanferbach river was renaturalised and connected to a modern drainage system in the estates. A task force for communal interests and a kindergarten were also formed.