Muelheim a.d. Ruhr
The new campus is open and transparent; it offers optimal conditions for learning and teaching and a great deal of space for research. Prof. Dr.-Ing. G. Stockmanns, President of University Ruhr West
CLIENT
BLB Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb NRW, Münster
COMPLETION
2016
SIZE
62.800 sqm GFA
COLLABORATION
HPP Architekten, Düsseldorf
Planergruppe Oberhausen
AWARDS
Auszeichnung Guter Bauten 2017, BDA Mülheim a.d.R.
Architizer A+Awards 2017
Immobilien Manager Award 2017, nomination
iF Design Award 2017, shortlist
PHOTOCREDITS
Christa Lachenmaier
Instead of rigid specialist faculties, the University Ruhr West, founded in 2009, and its buildings offer a high level of flexible usage for open academic exchange. After first considering several locations, the four institutes, dining hall, lecture theatre complex and library found ideal conditions on a former railway and industrial site in Mülheim an der Ruhr. The architectural language of the consortium ASTOC and HPP is based upon the dimensions and differences of scale in the surrounding area. In their volume and height the buildings, between two and eight storeys high, form a connecting link between the neighbouring residential development and the industrial area.
The neighbouring city district of Broich was long termed the “forgotten quarter”, characterised as it was for many years by the large number of empty ground floors. The research campus brought the vitality of 3,500 students to the area, leading to the creation of a lively quarter with an independent identity. The public spaces of University Ruhr West also offer a wide range of leisure opportunities to tempt local residents to spend time here too. With its neighbourly relations, the campus is a successful driver for location development in Mülheim. As the overall planners, ASTOC and HPP implemented this sustainable and environmentally friendly project with minimal energy requirements and coordinated 15 specialist engineering firms until completion of construction and inauguration of the buildings in June 2016.
