KAP 686 – The long road to a new
squareCase history
Cologne Cathedral was completed 130
years ago and for 25 of those years skaters have firmly taken
possession of Roncalliplatz in front of the southern facade. During
this time, a separate culture was formed and for many, the square
became an area that they identified with.
However, in recent years the scene has
been increasingly viewed as a problem.
Established interest groups exerted
pressure, and some were of the opinion that skating should simply be
banned.
The city was full of good intentions
and wanted to resolve the conflict in cooperation with the skaters.
However, there was no point of contact among the skaters.
They therefore had to concede and so
made skating difficult around the cathedral.
This forced the skaters to act if they
didn’t want to give up their sport, since there were no other
comparable alternatives in Cologne. They therefore did something
completely unusual for their scene: they formed a society which
gained over 500 members within a short space of time.
This meant the city now had a contact
person during the conflict with whom they could discuss alternatives
and who could speak clearly on behalf of the skaters’ interests,
which people had only been able to speculate on up to that point.
This created the possibility of being able to plan specifically for
the skaters instead of building a standard facility that wouldn’t
meet their actual needs.
Planning
Together with these unequal partners,
metrobox architects began working on this unusual project.
The skaters and architects tried to
decide what was actually necessary. The result was a move away from
the usual image of a skate park with lots of curves and ramps. The
skaters wanted an urban area that offered obstacles and challenges
just like in the city, only that these should be better arranged with
each other and more durable. The urban elements, such as steps,
edges, terrain and green areas, should be re-interpreted and placed.
No square like this had ever been built before. There were no
precedents, so everything had to be developed from scratch.
In terms of the city, the architecture
company had to deal with many boards and authorities and employ a lot
of persuasion for a project that in the eyes of many seemed unusual
and which sceptics initially couldn’t imagine would be a success.
However, the challenge for metrobox
architects didn’t just lie in dealing with both partners. It was
equally as important to involve the local population, who took great
interest in this polarising project. As a result, a pavilion was even
set up near the cathedral to provide information and answer any
questions. This was where pedestrians and skaters, who always use the
same area, came into conversation with each other for the first time.
Eventually the city and the skaters
found a piece of land that fulfilled the requirements of both
parties. The piece of land lies directly on the Rhine, in the
extension of the city’s most prestigious building area and is
easily accessible, although irreclaimable as it lies on the Rhine’s
flood plain. This is where the new square was to be created.
Concept
The basic design concept was created by
overlaying the images associated with the square, its use and its
location.
People flow through the built-up urban
landscape, each like a water droplet in a river. The skaters have
made this flow of people into a game. Quiet, long drawn-out stretches
with large radiuses alternate with jumping at obstacles, like the
flowing and spraying of water in a river.
The location of the square on the Rhine
places this image in an appropriate scenic context.
The implementation of this concept in
reality is achieved by overlaying the area with a virtual grid which
has uniform building areas at the cross-over points. The grid and
building areas represent urban elements and are taken from the urban
environment.
However, to turn this stark grouping on
a grid into a spontaneous arrangement that is optimal for this sport,
the area had to be reorganised using a particular algorithm. This
turned the building areas into structures of different sizes; they
rise out of the landscape or sink into it to intersperse the space
with green elements, meadows and trees. The basic structures are
skate objects made from concrete and stand like stones covered by
water in a river of flagstones.
The ground combines with the skate
objects using a template.
Realisation
Due to its special use and its location
on the flood plain, the square has to cope with many often
contradictory challenges.
The small hard skateboard wheels
require a surface that is as level and smooth as possible and does
not cause grazing in the event of falls while ensuring the non-slip
quality of the public square when it rains.
The incline of the area must ensure
Rhine flood water and rain run off completely, while not being too
steep for skating.
Skaters’ jumps as well as hard
winters and flooding must not affect the quality of the square over
the long term, which is ensured by its construction and the selection
of materials.
Finally, the budgets and deadline had
to be observed, which was successful in both cases.
Success
When the site was opened, it was clear
what a great success this collaboration of different parties was
going to be. The skaters took possession of the square right from the
outset and it has been full of people every day ever since. However,
it’s not just for skaters that the facility has paid off. The
Rheinpromenade, too, has since been full of pedestrians who watch the
skaters performing their feats. The previously lifeless area of the
new construction quarter, Rheinauhafen, has suddenly become full of
life. The square has activated and urbanised an extensively planned
and constructed quarter that was not yet part of the city.
A hybrid space has been created which
is both a sports facility and an urban square.