IBA Hamburg goes to Cologne

On the evening of Thursday, 3 May 2012, IBA Hamburg went to Cologne as part of a series of discussion forums entitled "IBA LOUNGE. Dialogue on Urban Renewal", in the run-up to 2013, the organisation's 'year of presentations'. The theme this time was: "Bankside Blindspot: Cologne's East Bank meets Hamburg's Elbe Islands", the focus being on structural change underway in these two "asymmetrical river cities". Some 200 attendees converged on the KAP Forum conference centre at Rheinauhafen to hear bullet-point presentations and the ensuing panel discussion. IBA Hamburg's IBA LOUNGE series is designed as a forum for sharing ideas and discussing objectives and results with experts from all over the German-speaking world.

Hamburg/Cologne, 8 May 2012 - The Elbe islands Wilhelmsburg and Veddel have only recently become a focus of attention, after decades of being ignored by urban planners - and many locals as well. This development is certainly in part due to the initiatives conducted by IBA (International Building Exhibition) Hamburg, and the coming of the 2013 igs international garden show. A similar phenomenon is occurring in Cologne on the east bank of the Rhine river, where in recent years urban planning has accelerated, and the future of older structures is being reconsidered. IBA director Uli Hellweg and Bernd Streitberger, head of Cologne's Urban Planning and Building Department, held two brief introductory presentations on the structural change processes that have been started in Cologne and Hamburg. Boris Sieverts of the City of Cologne Tourism Bureau showed many compelling images and animations depicting the Elbe islands of Wilhelmsburg in juxtaposition with Cologne's east bank on the Rhine.

"These metrozones are where the cities have their most growth potential," said IBA director Uli Hellweg on Thursday evening. "However, this redevelopment potential can only be unlocked through entirely new planning strategies. The city is a place of work, but we need to make these areas suitable for living as well. We have to come away from modernist 'either this or that' thinking, and shift into a 'both this and that' mentality," he continued. Hellweg discussed the factors that make Hamburg's Elbe islands a 'bankside blindspot' and a number of examples of strategies and projects IBA Hamburg has come up with for changing the future of these urban areas. Touching on social and ecological aspects of metrozones, he commented, "The city has resources further out from its core that are still underappreciated. On the Elbe islands we intend to demonstrate how a city district can provide all of its energy supply using its own resources, and even achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2025. A discussion is long overdue on what unexploited energy potential there is to be developed in cities."

Bernd Streitberger, head of Cologne's Urban Planning and Building Department, discussed issues connected with Cologne's being divided in two by the Rhine river, giving rise to radical differences that have still not been overcome. For the west bank urban planners have always focused on conservation, while targeting the east bank for renewal. Renewal efforts there have been positive, but in part have hindered other progress and created new problems, as older buildings there have not seen enough renovation. "Cologne must view the Rhine as its centre - as a hinge upon which both sides effectively turn." Concepts are already in development, he added, for re-assessing the east bank. Streitberger reported on several east-bank projects and activities, including the urban exhibition grounds, upgrading, the university of applied sciences to move in and the recycling of older industrial buildings combined with new sections added on. And there is still more developmental opportunity on the west bank: "Going forward we need to focus on tying together the many loose ends there, where the urban planning parameters are different, but not necessarily worse," said Streitberger. The goal is to utilise the different kinds of opportunities the location holds.

Professor Rolo Fütterer of the Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences and Dr. Reimar Molitor, Executive Director of the non-profit Region Köln/Bonn e.V. then had a panel discussion with IBA director Uli Hellweg, Bernd Streitberger, head of Cologne's Urban Planning and Building Department, and Boris Sieverts of the City of Cologne Tourism Bureau, on successes already reaped by the two cities from the processes unfolding, and what kind of visions are needed for further positive structural change.

"We believe the IBA LOUNGE series is a win for all parties, as we share experiences in dialogue with representatives of the cities on our programme itinerary. I am gratified that this was precisely the outcome in Cologne, where we had a highly stimulating discussion in which many interesting points were made," said IBA director Uli Hellweg in his concluding remarks.

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For further information please contact:
IBA Hamburg GmbH, Kristina Hödl, Director of Media Relations,
kristina.hoedl@iba-hamburg.de, Tel.: +49 (0)40 / 226 227-331 or send an email to Anna Vietinghoff, Media Relations, anna.vietinghoff@iba-hamburg.de, Tel: +49 (0)40 / 226 227-331 or to presse@iba-hamburg.de