Old industrial site could decorate Cologne – what’s the problem?
What does the future of the KHD headquarters in Cologne-Mülheim look like? One concern is the fabric of the building. Vacancies mean decay, says our guest author Peter Pauls.
Cologne – suffering Cologne with poor memory? The question arises when I look back to August 14, 2021 hay market Politicians and social forces, the city must use its right of first refusal and acquire the historic KHD headquarters. die She developed the art initiative “Room 13” and shaped it for ten yearsuntil she was terminated. Supporters collected signatures, the rally derived its own dynamic as if inspired by the eternal Höhner-Song “Be there, it’s great”. Shortly thereafter, the administration actually implemented a cross-party council decision and struck for a double-digit million amount.
Nevertheless, 15 months later, there is a hangover. The initiative is not yet in the KHD headquarters returned, although it feels like everyone wanted it that way. So she negotiates successfully with the city. According to the artists, the current status is that they should apply for a four-year lease like they would for a new building, the cost of which alone would be 150,000 euros.
Cologne-Mülheim: What is happening on the KHD site?
Another concern is the fabric of the building, according to Anja Kolacek and Marc Leßle, the managers of “Room 13”: Water ingress, unexpected maintenance and ventilation, condensation, mold and burglars bother her. Along Deutz-Mülheimer Strasse you can observe the neglect of empty industrial halls – a look through smashed windows is enough. Vacancies bring decay.
Here there is agreement between the artists and the investor Christoph Kahl from the Cologne company “Jamestown”, who acquired the site two years ago and wanted to develop it himself, but bowed to the urban right of first refusal without hesitation. Both sides are interested in the project and they are wondering how long future planning will be allowed in its condition.
24RHINE-Guest author Peter Pauls is chairman of the Cologne press club. Before that, he was editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper for many years Cologne City Gazette. This article comes from the newsletter of the Cologne Press Club, which you can subscribe to here.
In conversation with “Room 13” I was connected by the seriousness, commitment and goals of the artists. I’ll try to summarize your concern briefly: Since 1876, the Otto engine has been manufactured on the other side of the Rhine. He triggered a technical revolution worldwide and wrote industrial history. Committed to this spirit, “Room 13” wants to develop models for future housing, life and work and calls it the “real laboratory”.
In order for this to happen consistently, the city of Cologne would also have to die the second part of the KHD headquarters acquire and leave to the initiative. He belongs to the country NRW and was marked at the time as if with a ruler through the building. A daunting task therefore lies ahead of anyone who wants to develop the site.
► The artist initiative “Room 13” wants to subdivide the area via a district statute and assign it to institutions, investors and building groups via heritable building rights, who then – each for themselves – contribute to the big picture of housing, living, working, art and culture.
► As examples, the artists lead die Leipzig cotton mill or the former wholesale flower market in Berlin. An area becomes “room 13“Develop for yourself. Find out more by clicking the link. There you will find a digital book called “Future work city_The book“.
KHD site in Cologne: Halls have been derelict for years
There are a few things here that got me thinking. The documentation of a discussion, for example, in which the KHD site was “barely accessible” and “a disaster in terms of the fire department”. It wasn’t a proven expert who spoke like that. But one thing is clear: there are enormous (cost) risks slumbering in the halls that have been falling into disrepair for centuries. Who has experience and means to deal with it? A photo of a room that artists left full of earth when they moved out came to my mind. The same goes for sentences from the digital book, such as this one: “Regarding the district construction project, common methods, habits or thought units from the field of urban planning and urban development should be deliberately avoided. The Quartier building block is in line with the vanishing point of the city.”
With the artists I was able to translate this sentence for myself. It roughly means that there are no off-the-shelf solutions, just a sum of individual cases. But how do you want to communicate with a conventional administration? It has also just been certified by the Cologne Institute of the German Economy (IW) as being “partially dysfunctional” like Berlin. Desiring a responsible project contact and a constructive spirit in administration unites the artists with other investors. But will some understand what the others mean?
Council decision to purchase sets the course: where do they lead?
Public debates in Cologne are a temptation for local politics. They tempt to shop window closures. The word is then quickly as good as the deed and the result is a great deal of enthusiasm about oneself. The council decision to buy has set the course. But where do they lead? The investor Kahl Hutmann greyed out. And the artists are stalled. The historical area, which looks pathetic in places, is coming on. It reminds me of the actor Ralf Richter. In the Cologne review he said: “The people here are very courteous – like the people of Cologne are. After all, if 120 people promise to help you move, one almost had time if it wasn’t for his mother’s birthday.”
► Christoph Kahl’s Jamestown company invested in real estate: high quality apartments, shopping centers, commercial buildings, offices. Among other things, Jamestown rents out building complexes in New York, San Francisco and Atlanta. Private investors can also participate via Jamestown funds – from a minimum investment of 20,000 US dollars.
Christoph Kahl explained his company’s plans to most council parties. “Jamestown” has successfully demonstrated worldwide what is now pending in Cologne: revitalizing brownfield sites. In any other city, Kahl would roll out the red carpet. Not so in his home country. After all – he was retained by the depth and seriousness with which the council women and men grappled with his restructuring plans and they were well received. And then, in the end, to refer to the decision to use the site for other purposes.
The 68-year-old lives and works in Cologne. I found out more by accident that his million-dollar donation enabled the construction of the basketball center in Bickendorf. He is socially active, drives a mid-range car, is a quiet, unpretentious fellow and offers the assurance that the KHD headquarters will be revitalized by a competent company. I would have liked him to come into play. And “Room 13” also finds its place. That will not do? Might be. But that is irrelevant. Now let’s go in Cologne Mulheim nothing. (pp/IDZRNRW)