3-Bogen-Halle becomes the creative center of the Innovation Campus
05.05.2022 – More than almost any other of the remaining architectural monuments on the former Clariant site, the 3-Bogen-Halle stands for the industrial history of Offenbach's new innovation campus. Where chemical products were once manufactured, Stadtwerke Offenbach is soon to create a unique social meeting place in the region with art and culture, leisure and contemporary work.
The innovative utilization concept for the three-aisled brick building with its striking barrel-shaped roof structure was developed by the Offenbach-based artist group YRD.Works. They will lease and operate the hall from the public utility company INNO Innovationscampus GmbH & Co KG and also use it themselves.
As the client, INNO is having the Bogenhalle renovated and extended under the project management of its real estate sister company OPG Offenbacher Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH. INNO is the owner of the 36-hectare site. Together with OPG, it is developing the former chemical site into a forward-looking commercial area on behalf of the city.
According to the YRD.Works concept, studios and production spaces for rent in maisonette style, so-called "residencies", plus restaurants and exhibition spaces as well as a central, open-plan "market hall" for events, concerts and festivals are to be created on around 3,000 square meters and up to three storeys. This "open space" is intended as a social meeting place not only for the creatives working here, but also for employees of the companies on the Innovation Campus and for all Offenbach residents in general.
Yacin Boudalfa, Ruben Fischer and David Bausch have been working together at the interface of art, architecture and design for some time and specialize in the conception and design of social spaces. With the support of OPG, they run the Kressmann-Halle in Offenbach harbor as an exhibition space for contemporary art. The group has also made a name for itself through cultural events such as the Offenbach Lake Festival or the opera production on the harbor island.
New formats for working together
In their concept for the industrial building on the Innovation Campus, YRD.Works speak of a "triad of culture, society and new work". Ruben Fischer: "The vacant Bogenhalle offers the necessary space and diverse design options to become a biotope for young, contemporary work.
We want to bring together motivated makers and their innovative project ideas in the Bogenhalle and revitalize the space together." The aim is to develop new formats for collaborative work in which art and culture as well as public participation are central aspects.
Refurbishment and interior fittings
The Offenbach-based firm pätzold kremer architekten has been commissioned with the planning and implementation of the building renovation and interior fit-out. INNO intends to submit the building application at the beginning of next year. In order to implement the YRD.Works concept, the historic shell of the building, which has been vacant for eight years, will first be refurbished from 2023 onwards in line with monument protection requirements.
The roof and wall structures will have to be repaired, the roof covering and flooring extensively renewed and the necessary emergency staircases installed. Some bricked-up window arches and closed roof areas will be reopened in consultation with the conservation authorities. A sustainable building services and fire protection concept will be implemented for the entire building. Architect Hans Pätzold: "The aim is to create a synthesis between the historic building fabric and contemporary architecture as well as modern requirements."
The spatial and usage concept also envisages a tripartite division of the approximately eleven-metre-high arched hall in line with the building's design. The centerpiece is the central "market hall" in the middle of the building: a roofed, ceiling-high, temperature-controlled meeting and hub that offers space for (cultural) events, co-working and exchange between the creatives working in the hall as well as with day visitors.
Together with a gastronomic offer that is still to be specified, the "market hall" on the campus is intended to be an atmospheric place to relax - and not just during employees' lunch breaks. Several times a year, there will also be special event highlights such as a wine festival, night market or participation in music festivals.
In accordance with the house-in-house concept developed by YRD.Works and pätzold kremer architekten, several levels with up to three-storey wooden installations will be built into the two side aisles of the hall. The resulting workspaces with workshop flair for artistic and artisanal work open up to the "market hall" through glass-metal walls and are thus in visual relation to the "open space".
Five two-storey maisonette studios with internal staircase connections are being built on the eastern side of the hall. These temporary "residencies" are intended to provide young creatives with the perfect infrastructure for their innovative projects and support them in starting their own business.
The artists' group calls the western side aisle of the building "Drive". YRD.Works want to use part of the wooden fittings there themselves, with an office, workshop and project space. As a successor to the Kressmann Hall, which will soon make way for the new building of the University of Art and Design in the port, exhibitions and art events will take place in this project space. Drive" will also house the kitchen and restaurant as well as some of the hall's storage and supply facilities.
Completion and move-in are planned for the first quarter of 2025. The multi-million euro project, which will receive funding from the federal and state government's Growth and Sustainable Regeneration program (formerly: Urban Redevelopment West), is initially planned as a ten-year interim use.