Places at the Dortmunder U

CONTEXT
The site, which has been largely derelict since the relocation of the Dortmund Union Brewery, will be developed into a high-quality location in Dortmund's prime inner city location in the coming years. The U-Tower building, which is a listed building and intended for cultural use, will act as the driving force behind the future urban development.
The Rheinische Strasse urban redevelopment project was carried out in connection with the development of the brewery site. By changing the traffic routing of Rheinische Straße and Brinkhoffstraße as well as the relocation of the light rail underground, there was an opportunity to connect the area and in particular the U-Tower more closely to the city centre. Through the reorganization of the areas, two new plazas (,'Park of the twin cities' and 'Leonie-Reygers-Terrasse) were created in front of the U-Tower, which will become the link between the planned center for art, creativity and business and the city center and the main station.

CONCEPT
From the axes of the U-Tower and the façade grid of the existing office and administration building, we have developed a plaza concept that guides visitors and guests visually and creatively towards the solitaire of the U-Tower. The southern square serves as a stepping stone to the connection to the city. Green "stepstones" link the square with the city centre. The jump over the rampart is accomplished, the situation is also experienced by the motorist.
The concave and convex shaped lawns accommodate a light canopy of filigree gleditschias as well as an existing plane tree with its rather coarse foliage.
The actual forecourt of the U-Tower remains free of vegetation. The plaza area will remain free for events and cultural uses. The future continuation of the square design with the linear structured concrete pavement on the western side of the U-Tower is conceivable, so that the design can also fulfil the function of the walk-through foyer.

SURFACES
The squares received a uniform pavement of in-situ concrete with a broomstick structure. In these are 40cm wide bands of light granite with 3cm wide stainless steel rails glued in for clear material separation. Large concrete blocks were used as surfacing for the remaining areas of the Centre for Art, Creativity and Business. Seat and retaining walls were executed in light-coloured exposed concrete, acid-treated and water-repellent.