Westpark and Jahrhunderthalle

Bochum

n an area once occupied by the coal and steel industry at the edge of Bochum's city centre, a new, multifunctional city complex began construction in 1987 with its development process continuing to this day. Begun under the auspices of IBA Emscher Park, Westpark is the stimulus and quality standard for the development of the entire location.

What makes the park so attractive is its central location in the city, its connection to the regional network of trails and peripheral paths of the Emscher Landscape Park, its extremely sensitive and fitting bridges and, not least, its Jahrhunderthalle [Century Hall], the cultural venue at the heart of the park. The idea for the transformation of the former Krupp site, which ceased operation in 1968, into a park is the result of a design workshop. The results seize on the special topography of the site. The landscape is graduated at three different levels and can be accessed by a 2-km long circular path.

The plans were made concrete in a 1997 competition. Today, as a result, three bridge structures lend creative accents, linking up the various levels of the site. The approach to the centrally located Jahrhunderthalle  is spanned by the Nordpolbrücke (’North Pole Bridge’, Hegger & Hegger architects, Kassel with Bollinger & Grohmann Engineers, Frankfurt a.M.) The intricate Stegbrücke (’Catwalk Bridge’, Pahl + Weber- Pahl architects, Darmstadt with König & Hermisch engineers) accesses a footpath on the upper level. The S-shaped Hängebrücke (’Rope Bridge’, von Gerkan, Marg and Partners architects, Hamburg with Schlaich Bergermann and Partners, Stuttgart), the so-called ’mine-railway wing’, establishes connections between the mine-railway route and regional footpaths and bicycle trails. The park’s lighting concept, ’Orchestrated Darkness’, grasps the history of the site and accentuates distinctive structural points as well as natural sites within the park.

The Jahrhunderthalle is the centrepiece of the park. The Bochumer Verein industrial building was erected in 1902 for an industrial and commercial exhibition in Düsseldorf as an exhibition hall that could be dismantled. It was reassembled in Bochum and served various industrial purposes from 1924 to 1991. A meticulously planned demolition was able to be prevented. And instead, for the first time within the framework of IBA Emscher Park, a building was preserved and subsequently utilised as an unusual public venue. In 2002/03, the Jahrhunderthalle, by architects Petzinka, Pink + Partners, Düsseldorf, was certified and consequently employed as the central venue for the Ruhr Triennial.

Further developments since 2000 have included the construction of a new headquarters building for the trade union IG Metall in the south-eastern area of the site as well as the renovation of the historical clearing basin, the cooling towers and the water tower and an illumination at the ’Wasserwelt’ [’Water World’] just north of the Jahrhunderthalle. In 2007, the overall plan for the entire site was reworked since parts of the grounds are still used for traffic engineering by the Bochumer Verein and are not yet available as development space. The entire area was formerly reduced from 70 to 35 hectares. Future plans include the renovation and expansion of the pump house as the visitor centre for the European Capital of Culture Ruhr 2010 and the same treatment for the steam-compressor hall to produce storage and workshop areas for the Jahrhunderthalle with office space for KulturRuhr GmbH. An unspecified renovation of the turbine hall to be used for cultural enterprises is also in the works. Around 2.7 hectares of commercial and office space will be marketed to private investors. The projects will be competed by 2010. Areas will be developed on Alleestraße and on the steelworks plateau for both housing construction and service buildings  with a prestigious city square in front of the  Stützbauwerk Coliseum.