We have won the design competition for the former Karstadt site in Bielefeld’s city center. Two years after the department store closed, The Sahle Wohnen Group, based in Greven purchased the 8,815 m² site and launched the competition.
I’ll let the Westfalenblatt speak for itself: “The goal of the urban design is to revitalize Bielefeld’s city center and create a sustainable infrastructure encompassing retail, housing, hospitality, and other commercial uses. Architect Caspar Schmitz-Morkramer calls this ‘urban repair’ – meaning the monolithic Karstadt building will be transformed into a diverse urban ensemble. In his design, the site of the former department store becomes a piece of the city that feels open, permeable, diverse, and socially vibrant.”
