Betriebswerk

Share

This former train depot is a bold and exemplary project development. With its heritage-listed existing buildings, experimental new builds, and community-oriented repurposing, the site will have an inspirational effect on its surrounding area. »With this project, we aim to show that impact-oriented business in the real estate sector does not only mean profits, but also culture and community,« says Stefan Loebner, explaining the project. The architect runs Heidelberg-based architectural practice AAg together with Armin Schäfer and Stephan Weber, and in 2019 together they launched Betriebswerk GmbH & Co. KG, which is responsible for the project.

One important building block in the development of the new urban living space is committed collaboration: The ideas for the new spaces and outdoor areas were developed in dialogue with future users and the neighborhood. The IBA supported the initiators in firming up the spatial layout, fleshing out the management model, with its associated emphasis on the community. A six-person advisory council supports the Betriebswerk company, developing, monitoring, and steering the processes for the purposes of culture and community orientation.

By 2025, the approximately 16,500-square-meter space should become a lively site for working and temporary living for 500 to 600 people, turning a peripheral location behind commercial buildings into an address of which people will be pride. Plans encompass differentiated spatial offerings that emphasize community, encounters, and exchange. A mix of uses including coworking and cocreation spaces, office premises for freelancers, workshops, housing, childcare, hospitality, and cultural facilities, such as those for the »Klangforum Heidelberg« for new music, makes the project unique for Heidelberg: an ambitious contribution to a lively, creative urban world.

This project shows what moving buildings in the city forward can mean. Not only are existing buildings being renovated and new ones erected in a way that ensures new and old benefit from each other, but a flexible form of project development has also been found. This brings together the needs and expectations of users and developers alike. Through the self-determined, civil-society initiative, the boundary between the common good and the interests of specific groups dissolves and the city continues to develop.

Projekt-Meilensteine

September 2019

Nominated as an IBA Project

March 2020

Expert workshop on objectives and community alignment

June 2020

Coordination meeting with local residents

March 2021

Kick-off event for the implementation phase

September 2021

Start of construction work (old buildings)

Planned commissioning (incl. new buildings)