In urban planning, the term conversion describes “the reintegration of brownfield sites into the economic and natural cycle or the change of use of buildings”. You can find out exactly what this means and the best-known examples of successful conversion here.
In urban planning, the term conversion describes “the reintegration of brownfield sites into the economic and natural cycle or the change of use of buildings”. You can find out exactly what this means and the best-known examples of successful conversion here.
Admittedly: Although the above definition of conversion in urban planning is complete, it is also a little unwieldy. In practice, conversions usually involve the conversion of decommissioned military facilities for civilian purposes. Barracks become residential areas, so to speak. Although they make up the largest proportion of conversion sites in Germany, it is not only former military infrastructure, military bases, airfields and military training areas that undergo changes of use.
Conversions are also taking place in a civilian context, as can be seen in Hamburg’s HafenCity, where a new district for living and working will be created from the former free port area by the early 2030s. Disused railroad stations and track systems are also potential conversion sites. Examples of this type of conversion are the former freight stations in Coburg and Offenbach. These areas are currently being transformed into a science and technology center and a residential area respectively.
The fact that the term “conversion” is nevertheless often synonymous with “military conversion” is due to the fact that more and more military sites, especially those of the German and US armed forces, have been closed in the last ten years and can now revert to the municipalities. This offers great opportunities, but may also entail great burdens. Not every municipality therefore sees itself in a position to manage a conversion at all.
It often involves huge areas, often larger than the city center itself, which cannot be developed overnight. When a military site closes, the municipality in question is directly affected financially by the withdrawal of army personnel. If the conversion involves Bundeswehr land, for example, the municipality concerned must first buy it from the Federal Agency for Real Estate Management at market prices if it wants to use it. This is too much for many municipalities, which are already having to forego some of their tax revenue due to the citizens leaving.
Big tasks – big opportunities
However, the opportunities for urban conversion are great. If it succeeds, the mostly large brownfield sites in good locations can become attractive residential and business districts with excellent recreational value. These are known as “fillet pieces”. The example of the 380-hectare site of the Erdinger Fliegerhorst shows that there are former military properties that are already home to old, park-like stands of trees that are just waiting to become a recreational destination in the near future. Ideally, new and green urban districts can be created relatively quickly and easily by adding new residential areas. This also increases the density of the urban structure. Against the backdrop of the rampant housing crisis with a shortage of over half a million residential units, this is urgently needed.
Successful conversion: three examples
So what does conversion look like in practice? In the following, we present three examples of successful or promising planned conversions:
Tübingen
One example of successful conversion of military properties is Tübingen. In the south-east of the city center, the areas of the Hindenburg and Loretto barracks in the French Quarter have been converted since the withdrawal of the French armed forces in 1991. After Tübingen had initially acquired and developed the barracks areas from the Federal Republic of Germany at a low price, at that time still at “development-independent value”, the city sold the building plots to building cooperatives, which created two new districts here by 2008.
The fact that the term “conversion” is nevertheless often synonymous with “military conversion” is due to the fact that more and more military sites, especially those of the German and US armed forces, have been closed in the last ten years and can now revert to the municipalities. This offers great opportunities, but may also entail great burdens. Not every municipality therefore sees itself in a position to manage a conversion at all.
It often involves huge areas, often larger than the city center itself, which cannot be developed overnight. When a military site closes, the municipality in question is directly affected financially by the withdrawal of army personnel. If the conversion involves Bundeswehr land, for example, the municipality in question must first buy it from the Federal Agency for Real Estate Management at market prices if it wants to use it. This is too much for many municipalities, which are already having to forego some of their tax revenue because of the citizens leaving.
Big tasks – big opportunities
However, there are great opportunities for urban conversion. If it succeeds, the mostly large brownfield sites in good locations can become attractive residential and business districts with excellent recreational value. These are known as “fillet pieces”. The example of the 380-hectare site of the Erdinger Fliegerhorst shows that there are former military properties that are already home to old, park-like stands of trees that are just waiting to become a recreational destination in the near future. Ideally, new and green urban districts can be created relatively quickly and easily by adding new residential areas. This also increases the density of the urban structure. Against the backdrop of the rampant housing crisis with a shortage of over half a million residential units, this is also urgently needed.
Successful conversion: three examples
So what does conversion look like in practice? In the following, we present three examples of successful or promising planned conversions:
Tübingen
One example of successful conversion of military properties is Tübingen. In the south-east of the city center, the areas of the Hindenburg and Loretto barracks in the French Quarter have been converted since the withdrawal of the French armed forces in 1991. After Tübingen had initially acquired and developed the barracks areas from the Federal Republic of Germany at a low price, at that time still at “development-independent value”, the city sold the building plots to building cooperatives, which created two new districts here by 2008.
The ten-hectare site of the former Hindenburg barracks, the actual French Quarter, is now home to around 2,400 people, many of whom work in the approximately 150 small and medium-sized companies on site. The barracks buildings, which were worth preserving, were renovated as part of the conversion and amenities such as elevators, balconies and conservatories were added. In addition, new buildings with up to five storeys were added, which have a distinctly heterogeneous architecture and lay the foundation for a colorful and varied quarter.
On the site of the former Loretto barracks, a small-scale and dense district of seven hectares was created. Here, too, existing buildings were converted and supplemented with new buildings. The variety of buildings ranges from small townhouses to apartment blocks. For every 1,000 residents in the district, there are around 100 businesses that provide 500 jobs.
These two Tübingen conversion projects attracted international attention and received a total of ten urban planning prizes and awards from Germany and abroad. In 2002, Tübingen even won the European Urban Development Award in the “Conversion and Renewal” category, the highest honor that can be bestowed on urban planning in Europe. And the conversion of the French Quarter in Tübingen continues to impress to this day. In 2020, the city received the special award “Städtebau revisited: Preise – Praxis – Perspektiven” from the German Academy for Urban and Regional Planning. A total of 58 former award-winning projects from the years 1980 to 2010 were re-evaluated for this award.
Mannheim
The following film reflects on the future of the Benjamin Franklin Village in Mannheim. You can also gain an insight into the area.
Mannheim is home to an incredible 500 hectares of conversion land spread across the city. A large number of construction projects are being developed here on eight former US Army barracks sites. One of them is Franklin, a new urban quarter. It is being built on the site of the former Benjamin Franklin Village army housing estate and the Funari and Sullivan barracks. The total area of Franklin is over 140 hectares and is therefore roughly the size of Mannheim city center. Part of it will become a commercial area with space for large-scale retail. The remaining areas will become new residential areas. The project is due to be completed by 2025 and will then provide space for up to 9,000 people. 40 percent of the area of the Franklin-Stadtquartier will become public open and green space.
Trier
The ten-hectare site of the former Hindenburg barracks, the actual French Quarter, is now home to around 2,400 people, many of whom work in the approximately 150 small and medium-sized companies on site. The barracks buildings, which were worth preserving, were renovated as part of the conversion and amenities such as elevators, balconies and conservatories were added. In addition, new buildings with up to five storeys were added, which have a distinctly heterogeneous architecture and lay the foundation for a colorful and varied quarter.
On the site of the former Loretto barracks, a small-scale and dense district of seven hectares was created. Here, too, existing buildings were converted and supplemented with new buildings. The variety of buildings ranges from small townhouses to apartment blocks. For every 1,000 residents in the district, there are around 100 businesses that provide 500 jobs.
These two Tübingen conversion projects attracted international attention and received a total of ten urban planning prizes and awards from Germany and abroad. In 2002, Tübingen even won the European Urban Development Award in the “Conversion and Renewal” category, the highest honor that can be bestowed on urban planning in Europe. And the conversion of the French Quarter in Tübingen continues to impress to this day. In 2020, the city received the special award “Städtebau revisited: Preise – Praxis – Perspektiven” from the German Academy for Urban and Regional Planning. A total of 58 former award-winning projects from the years 1980 to 2010 were re-evaluated for this award.
Mannheim
The following film reflects on the future of the Benjamin Franklin Village in Mannheim. You can also gain an insight into the area.
Mannheim is home to an incredible 500 hectares of conversion land spread across the city. A large number of construction projects are being developed here on eight former US army barracks sites. One of them is Franklin, a new urban quarter. It is being built on the site of the former Benjamin Franklin Village army housing estate and the Funari and Sullivan barracks. The total area of Franklin is over 140 hectares and is therefore roughly the size of Mannheim city center. Part of it will become a commercial area with space for large-scale retail. The remaining areas will become new residential areas. The project is due to be completed by 2025 and will then provide space for up to 9,000 people. 40 percent of the area of the Franklin-Stadtquartier will become public open and green space.
Trier
Since the mid-1990s, Trier has been busily converting over 40 individual military sites covering more than 630 hectares into residential, commercial and recreational areas. At around 70 hectares, the Petrisberg, located to the east of the city center and formerly home to a military complex, is Trier’s largest and perhaps best-known conversion area. Since its redevelopment in 2004 as part of the then State Garden Show, the Petrisberg is now a mixed urban area for living and working. In addition to a new university, there are also around 180 companies here. These include companies from the fields of research and science, which employ more than 1000 people and form the so-called “Science Park”.
You can find more information on current conversion projects in Germany on the website of the Federal Agency for Real Estate.
Are you interested in more urban planning background knowledge? Here you can find out all about the concept of landscape.
Since the mid-1990s, Trier has been busily converting over 40 individual military sites covering more than 630 hectares into residential, commercial and recreational areas. At around 70 hectares, the Petrisberg, located to the east of the city center and formerly home to a military complex, is Trier’s largest and perhaps best-known conversion area. Since its redevelopment in 2004 as part of the then State Garden Show, the Petrisberg is now a mixed urban area for living and working. In addition to a new university, there are also around 180 companies here. These include companies from the fields of research and science, which employ more than 1000 people and form the so-called “Science Park”.
You can find more information on current conversion projects in Germany on the website of the Federal Agency for Real Estate.
Are you interested in more urban planning background knowledge? Here you can find out all about the concept of landscape. You can find out more about the field of urban planning here.
