Ideas for the Zukunftsquartier Piek 17

What can the commercial location of tomorrow look like? What uses does Überseestadt need? And how should the public space be designed? Following a site inspection, local residents, Waller Advisory Board members and other interested parties submitted their suggestions for the Piek 17 neighbourhood of the future. You could also take part online until 9 October 2023.

A special vehicle for a special occasion: On 25 September, the Stadtmusikanten-Express set off from the University of the Arts at Speicher XI A to the last available development site in Überseestadt: the new business location Zukunftsquartier Piek 17. Valerie Hoberg, Sven Jäger and Ole Brennecke from WFB Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen GmbH led the group on foot across terrain that is otherwise inaccessible.

Schuppen 17 und Hochwasserschutz

"Schuppen 17 gives this place its character as a special building," said Valerie Hoberg. "We would like to strengthen this." The rails in the ground and the old quay wall with the wilderness on the other side, which remain from the former overseas harbour, also give the area its identity and are worth preserving. However, it is not only the creation of identity that plays an important role in the considerations, but also current and future challenges as well as climate adaptation. "With regard to the open spaces, cooling and infiltration areas are therefore of essential importance," says Hoberg.

Her colleague Ole Brennecke added that flood protection must also be taken into account in the future design and conversion: "The height for flood protection is 2.70 metres above the existing ground level." Accordingly, a protective wall must be integrated into the site. The planning offices are called upon to find solutions so that this wall is not so prominent.

Vom Kühlhaus zum Energiehaus

"This won't be a run-of-the-mill business park," emphasised Sven Jäger. The new site is to be connected to the neighbouring areas. "The aim is to create a buffer zone between the residential and mixed-use area on one side and the timber and factory harbour on the other and to combine commercial and public use within it." Another striking existing building that the group looked at was the former cold store, which has been empty for almost 30 years. This is to be converted into an "energy house" and supply companies on the harbour edge and in the Holz- und Fabrikenhafen with climate-neutral renewable energy in the form of electricity and heat.

Kühlhaus und Waller Sand zusammendenken

Back at the University of the Arts, the workshop began under the leadership of the accompanying planning company scheuvens + wachten plus from Dortmund. In her introduction to the topic, Senate Building Director Prof. Dr. Iris Reuther emphasised how important it was to "think well together" the Waller Sand and the neighbouring cold store. In this context, she presented construction site 11 on the harbour edge. GEWOBA is also realising a project there in coordination with BREBAU as a result of the "Unusual living - children in the city" competition, which focuses specifically on the housing and living needs of children and families.

Simone Geßner, Head of Department for Commercial and Regional Planning at the Senator for Economics, Ports and Transformation, emphasised the great potential of Schuppen 17 as the new centre of the district, with plenty of space for cultural, creative, leisure and sports activities, connected by the tram that will serve the district in the future.

Ideenfindung in Kleingruppen

This was followed by lively discussions at four tables. The participants collected suggestions on the topics of "Framework conditions for development", "Uses and user groups", "Public space and greenery" and "Rethinking existing buildings" and put forward their wishes and comments. The ideas in the area of urban development ranged from a bridge connection from Piek 17 to Alt-Walle to green spaces, façade and roof greening, restaurants at the cold store, a market square, a beach shell for concerts and a cycle path that could be used to cycle around the entire neighbourhood.

Brennende Themen

Topics that were repeatedly addressed and emphasised in their urgency were, for example, secure healthcare provision through doctors' surgeries and pharmacies, local amenities (organic market, drugstore, florists), catering, but above all kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, gyms, a swimming pool, a youth leisure centre, offers for older people or barrier-free offers and traffic-calmed areas.

Mobilität und Grün

When it came to "Rethinking existing buildings", several participants were in favour of preserving the charm of the former harbour and not allowing the area to become faceless. Various meeting places to strengthen the neighbourhood and open spaces for art and culture were also requested. The topic of mobility also took up a lot of space: Among other things, tram connections were debated and car-sharing points and hire stations for bicycles and cargo bikes were proposed. Greenery in all its variations was also a recurring focus. The desire to preserve existing green spaces and create more in the future was not only expressed at the "Public space and greenery" table.

Wie geht es jetzt weiter?

Anyone who was unable to take part in the participation process had the opportunity to submit their proposals online until 9 October 2023. In the end, the results will be incorporated into an urban and open space planning competition, in which an independent jury will make the final decision. This is expected to take place in late summer/autumn 2024, according to the planning company.