Blue crane in Offenbach harbor becomes an attraction on the regional park route
The steel relic from the days of the old industrial port towers 26 meters high. The Blue Crane is the landmark of the port of Offenbach. In 2016, the decommissioned machine is to become a publicly accessible work of art, illuminated in the evening, with a viewing platform above the harbor basin. The Rhine-Main conurbation regional park will thus be enriched by a spectacular station.
The idea for this new design for the industrial monument, which is not a listed building, came from the Frankfurt-based artist team Winter/Hoerbelt. The two sculptors Wolfgang Winter and Berthold Hörbelt emerged as the winners of an artistic ideas competition with their design "Crane of the Arts".
The competition was organized by OPG Offenbacher Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH in the spring. The company, which is part of the Stadtwerke Offenbach Group's (SOH) Geschäftsfeld Immobilien division, is developing, opening up and marketing the Offenbach harbor as a new urban district.
Four artists or artist groups took part in the restricted selection process. OPG has documented their consistently exciting works in a brochure.
New identification point
The aim of the competition, curated by Frankfurt gallery owner Heike Strelow, was not only to preserve the Blue Crane, but also to strengthen its function as a landmark of the port.
Božica Niermann, OPG Head of Project Development: "By transforming the crane into an accessible landmark, we want to create a new point of identification not only for the port, but also for the city of Offenbach."
The design by Winter/Hoerbelt particularly impressed the six-member jury made up of experts from the fields of art, architecture and urban development, led by the Director of the Deutsches Architekturmuseum Frankfurt, Peter Cachola Schmal, and OPG Managing Director Daniela Matha. The artist team's competition entry focuses on the authenticity of the old machine and its sensory experience.
By doubling the moving bridge, a square base is created that serves as a support for a large platform. A wide, inviting staircase, whose design is adapted to the boom of the crane, leads up to this belvedere at a lofty height.
Only this central structure will be accessible to the public. The crane superstructure above the slewing ring will remain a refuge for birds. The structure is intended to invite people to rest and to radiate a sense of restrained calm, including in the evening through its lighting reflected in the water of the harbor basin.
Still life from nature and technology
The two artists see the crane as an industrial-historical sculpture in dialog with the Gutsche Park planned along the harbour basin. A "still life of nature and technology" directly on the water, which defines the surroundings as an architectural design element visible from afar and provides an exciting counterpoint to the Frankfurt skyline. Part of this environment is to be reflected in the dredging bucket refined on its surface.
The artistic intervention preserves the Blue Crane in its existing state, but transfers it to another level of meaning. "As an identity-forming moment, it symbolizes the transition of the old port into a modern city district," says curator Heike Strelow.
The investment costs amount to around 250,000 euros. The design is to be implemented in 2016 and OPG was able to win Regionalpark Ballungsraum Rhein-Main GmbH and the state of Hesse as partners.
As a historical industrial relic and accessible work of art, the Blue Crane will become part of the regional park route. "The crane enriches the route network with an attraction with a truly regional dimension," says Katja Imhof, landscape architect at the regional park. The view from the platform will extend from Offenbach across Frankfurt to the Feldberg in the Taunus.
