Volmepark Kierspe

As part of the Regionale 2013 Südwestfalen, the district of Kierspe-Bahnhof was upgraded by various measures, including the renaturation of the Volme and the creation of a new public open space, the Volmepark. In close interaction with the renaturalised Volme, the Volmepark Kierspe forms a generous - partly extensive-nature-related, partly intensive-urban - new public open space and thus represents an essential building block for a sustainably liveable neighbourhood in the vicinity of the Kierspe railway station. Based on the award for the 2014 realization competition, the city of Kierspe commissioned Franz Reschke Landschaftsarchitektur in collaboration with Jan Derveaux Architekt with the planning. The Volmepark Kierspe was completed and opened in July 2017.

Award Sport, Game, MovementGerman Landscape Architecture Award 2019

Jury verdict: As part of the 2013 Regionale in North Rhine-Westphalia, the small town of Kierspe in the Sauerland region also provided the decisive impetus to upgrade a neglected district near the railway station. Where a metalworking company long had its workshops, the new Volmepark on the renaturalized river of the same name has offered the population space for local recreation since 2017.

The author cleverly emphasizes the topography of the riverbed by two landscape structures made from the spoil of the necessary remediation of contaminated sites. The two opposite banks offer an exciting contrast in terms of design: on the one hand, the extensive areas of the park with their meadows and the near-natural course of the river, and on the other, an intensively usable activity area with play and sports facilities. Here, too, the author resists over-furnishing, but works with the topography: the sculptural landscape of concrete offers a wide spectrum of possible uses as a matter of course. Where furniture has been chosen, it follows a carefully elaborated design canon: the hot-dip galvanized, steel objects refer to the industrial history of the area and in their form to the Volmelandschaft.

The jury emphasizes the appropriate and accentuated handling of the theme of sport and play. The offer fits naturally into the park and landscape with a specially developed design language.