What's the next step in Düsseldorf?

A whole five hectares are to be redesigned and rebuilt on Blanckertzstrasse and north of Bergische Landstrasse in Düsseldorf Ludenberg to develop an entirely new neighborhood. To achieve this, the three owners, BPD Immobilienentwicklung GmbH, the state capital Düsseldorf, and Städt. Wohnungsgesellschaft Düsseldorf MBH & CO. KG (SWD), held a two-stage cooperative competition with public participation, in which our office was the process supervisor.

Now, after the 2nd jury meeting in December 2021, a winner among the participating planning offices has been determined: The Düsseldorf office konrath und wennemar architekten ingenieure was able to prevail together with Carla Lo Landschaftsarchitektur from Vienna. The road here was long and productive. After all, a decision was only made after a total of three digital public participation sessions, in which citizens were able to discuss the project and the designs and contribute ideas, as well as the two jury sessions by a panel of expert judges.

3. participation on the day before the decision

To recall, after the first jury session in August 2021, the designs of five design teams had made it to the final round:

• ASTOC Architects and Planners, Cologne
• Mronz und Schaefer, Cologne
• konrath und wennemar architekten ingenieure, Düsseldorf
• Thomas Schüler Architekten und Stadtplaner, Düsseldorf
• LOWEG ARCHITEKTEN, Aachen

By the time of the second jury meeting in December, the offices had been able to incorporate the recommendations of the first jury as well as the input from the public into their plans and make adjustments.

In the end, things got really excited once again at the 3rd public participation session on December 13, 2021, one day before the jury meeting. Due to the pandemic, this participation had to take place digitally again. Still, the revised designs were presented in detail digitally and discussed with 156 citizens for the last time – for more than three and a half hours. The citizens’ initiative Park Ludenberg and the citizens’ association Bergisches Viertel were also able to contribute their concerns and suggestions. .

Winner: konrath und wennemar architekten ingenieure

In the end, the office of konrath und wennemar architekten ingenieure was able to convince the jury the most. The architecture firm’s concept: a climate-friendly construction method for the houses, which includes greening of the pitched roofs, as well as plenty of mobility for pedestrians and cyclists. The public particularly liked the fact that a large proportion of the trees are to be preserved. Overall, the design offers a village charm. This is also helped by having a greened and central village square, around which life in the new neighborhood is to take place.

What is next?

The end of the competition has not yet marked the start of implementation. Now a comprehensive processing phase begins between the three owners of the site and the winner of the competition, i.e., between BPD, SWD, the city planning office of the state capital of Düsseldorf and the office konrath und wennemar. The next steps include, for example, examining the preservation of the existing trees and the feasibility of the design before a development plan procedure is started.

Image: © konrath und wennemar architekten ingenieure, Düsseldorf / Taken by: bpd GmbH