New development in the ruhr valley

The Port of Dortmund - Europe's largest canal port - is an industrial and logistics location of international importance, a goods hub for the entire Ruhr region, connected to the German seaports and the so-called ZARA seaports: Zeebrugge, Antwerp, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

By 2025, a new, low-car-use district with office buildings, restaurants and leisure areas will be built to the east of the port basins. Many students are already drawn to Dortmund's port district to live, and artists and creative companies have recognized the innovative power of the district in recent years - for example, the "Academy for Theater and Digitality," a unique institution in Europe, has settled on the "Digital Campus."

On a total area of around 16,500 square meters, the investment company Landmarken AG is developing a co-working space, a gallery and exhibition space, a restaurant and a start-up center in three components, which the city of Dortmund is renting for the development of start-ups.

Mark 51°7 - an innovation quarter on the former Opel industrial sites near the Ruhr University Bochum: Started as a non-profit public-private partnership with Opel Automobile GmbH, the properties have been developed exclusively by the city of Bochum since the beginning of 2021 with the support of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the district government as funding providers.

The Ruhr University, together with various transfer and research facilities, forms the heart of the development on a total area of 70 hectares. Investors are constructing office buildings with areas for co-working and FabLabs, and companies from the IT security and automotive sectors have already settled here.

Plans call for the site to be sustainably supplied by an intelligent district heating network with energy feed-in options, as well as the targeted promotion of low-emission traffic. The neighborhood development Mark 51°7 was awarded the 1st prize of the Polis Award for Urban Land Recycling in 2019.

6 Lakes Wedau is a project that radiates far beyond the city limits of Duisburg. Not only urgently needed residential space is being created here. With 90 hectares of railroad land no longer needed for operations, Duisburg-Wedau is home to one of the largest urban development projects in North Rhine-Westphalia. The planning combines history and forward-looking urban development: Listed buildings such as a heating plant, a signal box and a brick water tower as well as an approximately 18,000-square-meter factory hall will be preserved.

A regionally significant residential area with around 3,000 units is to be built on the approximately 60-hectare southern site. In a direct waterfront location and close to the Wedau Sports Park with its high recreational quality, GEBAG Duisburger Baugesellschaft and the City of Duisburg are planning a wide range of quality residential forms and types in the owner-occupied and rental segments.

On the northern area of the site, the so-called Campus Quarter for research, technology and business start-ups is being built in cooperation with the University of Duisburg-Essen. Aspects such as water-sensitive urban development, environmentally friendly mobility and climate-friendly architecture play a central role in the planning of all 6 Lake Wedau neighborhoods.

The thyssenkrupp company has been shaping the industrial history of the Ruhr Metropolis for 200 years. In 2010 the Group rebuilt its headquarters in Essen in line with the latest urban design and New Work principles. The thyssenkrupp Quarter is an open campus with a total of 13 buildings.

In the immediate vicinity of the thyssenkrupp headquarters, a modern working environment with short walkways has been created. The requirements for sustainable use of raw material resources were taken into account in the planning and realization of the buildings and the open area. All office buildings are heated by a geothermal system, and an innovative sun protection system gives the main building its look.

The buildings are linked by an open concept garden with more than 700 trees. The Krupp Park with a generous water area significantly improves the microclimate of the site. For the innovative rainwater harvesting system in the Quarter, thyssenkrupp was awarded the "water mark" by the Emschergenossenschaft, a seal for the particularly sustainable use of rainwater.

Image credit: Stadt Dortmund (Dortmund Port Quarter); Landmarken AG/HHVision (Mark 51°7 Kraftwerk); thyssenkrupp (thyssenkrupp Quartier); GEBAG Duisburger Baugesellschaft mbH (6-Seen-Wedau)