Forum Krefeld

Tailor-Made for the City of Velvet and Silk

Location

Krefeld
Project

New mixed-use commercial building with retail, study institute, and parking
Client

Forum Krefeld Development GmbH
Design and construction period

2013–2018

In the late 19th century, Krefeld was an elegant and modern city. But after World War II and the subsequent structural shifts, little remained of its former splendor. The inner city in particular appeared fragmented in parts – heterogeneous and undecided in character. The development of a site just over 3,760 square meters in the heart of Krefeld offered us the opportunity for an exemplary act of urban repair – spatially as well as functionally.

Block and Axes

Completed in 2018, Forum Krefeld offers 4 to 6 stories of space for a full-line grocery store, additional shops and restaurants, the Sparkasse Financial Center, a training institute, and 184 parking spaces. The project completes the organically evolved urban block while incorporating existing buildings on all four sides. Together with the Seidenweberhaus (a postwar cultural hall named after Krefeld’s silk-weaving heritage) and the city library across the street, it reinforces Königstrasse’s role as an urban axis. In keeping with the idea of urban repair, we sought to integrate the new building harmoniously into its diverse surroundings. The proportions and heights of neighboring structures informed the volume of the new complex. The various parts were composed into a distinct ensemble that ties the site’s different urban edges together.

Form and Facade

The key to the building’s legibility lies in the articulation and materiality of its facade. A strictly orthogonal grid of precast concrete elements establishes the overall rhythm. Yet the alternation between clinker brick and infill panels – differentiated according to the building’s respective uses – introduces a finer level of articulation at the human scale. The ground floor and first floor along St.-Anton-Strasse, occupied by retail, present a welcoming transparency with generous glazing. The corner to St.-Anton-Strasse is given particular emphasis: at the height of the second floor, the grid opens to reveal planted elements that soften the composition. Along Friedrichstrasse, the Sparkasse Financial Center asserts its identity through horizontally staggered brickwork across all four stories. The horizontal bands of the facade extend around the entire building, visually connecting the double-helix parking ramp, the delivery zone, and the extensive technical areas on Königstrasse. As a result, every elevation in the urban context appears distinct yet equally considered.

Light and Air

Set slightly apart, the sand-colored brick corner building at the intersection of Königstrasse and Carl-Wilhelm-Strasse rises six stories and houses the StudienInstitut Niederrhein (SINN), a regional public training institute. Within this calmer setting, its bright, welcoming classrooms on the 3rd to 6th floors are flexibly partitioned with movable walls and accessed via a separate entrance. Around the corner lies the entrance to the parking garage – which, unusually, is located above ground. “For retail, individual mobility is still an important issue,” explains Caspar Schmitz-Morkramer. “Retailers continue to depend on parking spaces. For us, the decisive factor is always the human scale: how can we address these needs intelligently, and integrate them thoughtfully?” Safety was a key consideration: the facades of the parking levels on the second and third floors are fitted with sand-colored metal mesh and openwork brick screens, providing natural light and ventilation.

caspar.team

Project lead
Nanna Busch
Claus Pfister

Project team
Karen Albers

Tobias Goße

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Kai Hesse
Marcus Melsa
Lars Göpfert
Massimo Piazza
Kristina Rhiemeier
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