The BUGA Mannheim is due to take place in 2023. Back in 2015, RMP Stephan Lenzen Landschaftsarchitekten was awarded the contract in the VOF procedure “Grünzug Nordost und Bundesgartenschau 2023”.
In just over a year and a half, the BUGA Mannheim Federal Horticultural Show will start. BUGA 23 will run from April 14, 2023 to October 8, 2023 under the motto “Best Prospects”. The claim: others talk about sustainability, Mannheim puts it into practice. Read in this article what BUGA Mannheim understands by sustainability and what innovations are planned.
A Federal Garden Show was held in Mannheim back in 1975. The modern edition of the BUGA Mannheim shows a different face than the one from 45 years ago. Back then, the focus was on horticultural exhibitions. Federal Garden Shows were staged as horticultural events. This focus has changed considerably in recent decades. Nowadays, federal garden shows fulfill other purposes. The challenges of urban living space go far beyond the boundaries of gardens and parks. A BUGA of modernity stands for sustainable and integrated urban and regional development.
Accordingly, the focus of BUGA 23 is on sustainable and modern urban development. The goal of the BUGA in Mannheim was formulated by Lord Mayor Dr. Peter Kurz five years ago: The aim was to create a high-quality green space for the city and thus design a sustainable intergenerational project.
In this context, a new residential quarter is being created on the former Spinelli military site, which was used by the US armed forces for a long time. It represents an important urban development project for the city of Mannheim. Around 4,500 residents are expected to live there in the future. The former military site – and thus BUGA 23 – is part of the ‘Grünzug Nordost’. This stretches from Luisenpark across the Neckar to the Vogelstangsee lakes. The area covers around 200 hectares.
In 2015, the landscape architecture firm RMP Stephan Lenzen was awarded the contract in the VOF procedure “Grünzug Nordost und Bundesgartenschau 2023” in the area of landscape/open space planning. The firm’s website explains the background to the planning: “The design interprets the open space as green infrastructure and develops it further to meet the future needs of Mannheim residents. The history of the site remains legible, with the focus on a flexible and robust design. A great quality lies in keeping the center free and concentrating on the edges. Short distances – wide views.”
BUGA 23 has made sustainability one of its top priorities. Michael Schnellbach, Managing Director of Bundesgartenschau Mannheim 2023 gGmbH, says: “Together with partners from urban society and business, we want to realize the most sustainable BUGA ever and make Mannheim a role model for urban sustainability.” Schnellbach is convinced of the good ideas of all those involved: “We are showing that it can be done and how it can be done.”
For this reason, sustainable ideas are appearing in many different forms at BUGA 23 in Mannheim. For example, around 60 hectares of the 200 hectares of the ‘green corridor north-east’ are to be unsealed. During the time when the US military used the area, there were numerous halls for vehicles and tanks. The area is sealed over long stretches.
The unsealing of the large area has various objectives. The aim is to create a fresh air corridor to ventilate the city center of Mannheim. In the summer months, this should provide cooling, especially at night. In addition, people should be able to move freely in the newly designed natural space. The new green corridor will thus enhance the ecological value of Mannheim’s urban space.
A high-speed cycle path is also to be created. It will connect the city center with the districts of Feudenheim, Käfertal and Vogelstang. The BUGA itself aims to become CO2-neutral – the first BUGA ever to do so.
Sustainability is also reflected in other locations at BUGA 23. The U-Halle is a good example of this. It is also located on the former military site and was used by the US armed forces as a warehouse. The hall covers around 20,000 square meters and is to be converted and used in the long term. The focus here is on ‘recycle and reuse’. According to Michael Schnellbach, Managing Director of BUGA 23, the aim is to “use existing structures and buildings in an innovative and different way”.
The U-Halle will be converted according to the design of the Berlin architectural firm “Hütten und Paläste”. The area will initially be reduced by around half. In the end, around 5,600 square meters of space will remain. The building is intended to be an architectural highlight of the BUGA Mannheim. The architects of ‘Hütten und Paläste’ describe it as an “icon of transformation”.
BUGA 23 wants to become a driver for new ideas for resource-conserving and climate-friendly growth. This is why botanical building interventions are to be implemented. This means that plants and buildings will enter into a symbiosis and grow together inseparably over the years.
Visitors will also be introduced to unusual materials. For example, they will get to know awnings made of photovoltaic film or a pavilion made of carbon.
In addition to all the innovative ideas, the good old plants will of course not be neglected. Roses, dahlias, perennials and rhododendrons will therefore provide a sensual experience of pure floral joy. And here, too, the overarching theme of the BUGA can be felt once again. This is because the 2023 trees that are to be planted for the BUGA Mannheim will then find new locations in the city. Plants that have a good chance of surviving in extreme climates will also be presented. All in the spirit of BUGA Mannheim, which focuses on sustainability and climate adaptation.
Federal Garden Shows are held every two years in various German cities. This year, Erfurt opened the exhibition. The BUGA 2025 was won over by Rostock.
