Landschaftspark, Germany

A monumental transformation. From an ominous industrial hulk of pollution to a compassionate restoration for a new generation. Designed in 1991 by Latz + Partner, the former steel and coal plant had been in state of abandonment for a decade, until a competition was put in place to revolutionise the site.  It is now a public park and venue. 

Winners Latz + Partner understood the delicate balance at hand. Their mission was to heal and understand the industrial past, rather than trying to reject it. To allow for memory and heritage to guide a new path. The idea being that a grandfather, who might have worked at the plant, could walk with his grandchildren and share his story with them, whilst being alongside, on top of or even in that very same piece of machinery. It’s about preserving and celebrating the past whilst moving forward with the future. 

With pollution contaminating the breadth of the site, the team chose to allow the site time to heal naturally. With water ways and specific planting carefully curated in order to assists the process. Natural flora has been encouraged to grow wild and free amongst the magnificently brutal industrial structures. Whilst a series of intimate and contained gardens have been curated in the old concrete bunkers, for precious moments of solitude. Elevated walkways allow for marvellous view points, blast furnaces for colossal garden follies and previously utilitarian water tanks for wonderfully large water gardens. It goes without saying that scale plays a huge part in what makes this urban oasis so special. 

If the harsh, brutal beauty of the structures and the lush landscapes aren’t enough for you then the park also rather impressively boasts a climbing wall, a high ropes course, a piazza, Europes largest indoor diving pool and a nightly light installation by British artist Jonathan Park. All of which have been created through the repurposing of existing structures of the steel plant.