The approximately 30-hectare site to the south of Duisburg's main train station, previously known primarily as "Am Alten Güterbahnhof," has had an eventful past. GEBAG, in close cooperation with the city corporation, wants to develop the site into a sustainable and climate-sensitive neighborhood.
For the revitalization of the area, GEBAG FE, in close cooperation with the city of Duisburg, announced an urban and open space planning competition in the summer of 2020. In March 2021, the jury of experts unanimously selected the framework plan of the planning consortium CKSA Christoph Kohl Stadtplaner Architekten, Berlin and FUGMANN JANOTTA und Partner mbB, Berlin as the competition winner. The general public (citizens, politicians) was involved in the entire competition process. The winning design of the planning consortium was also favored by the general public: the "Duisburger Dünen".
The winning design envisages a centrally located, green, dense and mixed neighborhood which, with its networked neighborhoods, offers the best conditions for a healthy, climate-neutral lifestyle. In such an environment, the private car can be dispensed with, as diverse sharing offers can be made possible and alternative lifestyles can be given space. The neighborhood structure, with its large park and spacious courtyard areas, provides a healthy living environment and space for community gardening projects. The three overarching use categories of "residential, office/service, and creative" shape the characters of the neighborhood spaces. Interactions between uses find space at all scales, bringing diversity to the neighborhood and creating special intensity at the "overlaps." The central pedestrian access axis links the city center with the new neighborhood center, where retail and community uses are found.
The planned block structures, which extend over the entire plan area, make it possible to divide into several buildings as well as building types and thus to be able to accommodate a choice of uses from living to working. This makes these structures, over the years of planning to realization and beyond, flexible and resilient.
Further south, these blocks open up and interlock with the park as density decreases to create a green residential environment.
The project is based on the premise of the 15-minute city and envisions the creation of a green, dense, and mixed neighborhood that, with its interconnected neighborhoods, offers the best conditions for a healthy, climate-neutral lifestyle. The Duisburg Dunes will be developed in the spirit of the sponge city and with a sustainable energy concept.
The horizontal and vertical intermixing of various uses from residential, services, commercial, gastronomy, hotel, local supply and social facilities characterize the new quarter.
In such an environment, the car can be dispensed with - environmental mobility has the right of way on the Duisburg Dunes! The neighborhood structure with its parkland and spacious courtyard areas offers a healthy living climate and space for community garden projects.
In the context of the creation of planning rights, the focus continues to be on transparency to the citizens and the public. The population will be informed about the urban land use plan procedure and the overall project until the realization of the entire neighborhood via the project website and can get involved in the area development.
As part of the urban land use plan process, early public participation will be conducted starting in mid-October.
Joy in Duisburg: The website of the online citizen participation for the development of the area "Am Alten Güterbahnhof" was awarded the polis Award 2021. In the category "Communicative Urban Design", the innovative participation process, which took place completely online due to corona, was able to assert itself against four other nominated projects and initiatives (including from Berlin, Leipzig and the Metropole Ruhr) and secured the 1st prize. For this category, projects were sought with which citizens were involved in urban development processes and encouraged to participate, for example with a special planning game, dialogue or workshop procedure.
Joy in Duisburg: The website of the online citizen participation for the development of the area "Am Alten Güterbahnhof" was nominated for this year's polis AWARD. Last week, the jury of the award made the shortlist for the award ceremony from more than 120 submissions.
Last Thursday, the nine-member jury of the urban and open space planning competition for the development of the site "Am Alten Güterbahnhof" met. In the end, the panel unanimously selected the design by the team of CKSA Christoph Kohl Stadtplaner Architekten and fugmann-janotta und Partner mbH (both Berlin) as the winner of the process by a clear margin. A total of seven teams from the fields of architecture and landscape planning had revised their concepts in the second phase of the competition.