Heinrich-König-Platz Gelsenkirchen: From dreary to attractive

For a long time, Gelsenkirchen’s Heinrich-König-Platz was one thing above all: an oversized subway train station from the 1980s. After the square was redesigned, the “hole” became an attractive urban space. Read here how landscape architect Stefan Bernard assesses the project a decade later.

Dull squares, oversized streets and unattractive subway entrances are architectural sins from the past that can still be found in many German cities today. Structural change, combined with the loss of jobs, the continuous population decline, followed by vacant apartments and declining purchasing power, have also led to a general loss of attractiveness and quality in Gelsenkirchen’s city center, especially in public spaces.

In 2009, the city of Gelsenkirchen announced a Europe-wide open space planning competition to redesign Heinrich-König-Platz. The Berlin landscape architects Bernard and Sattler won over the jury and were commissioned to plan the design of the square. Based on feasibility studies and public involvement, they developed the design concept for the square, and the “New Heinrich” celebrated its grand opening in 2017.

Since then, the square has been transformed from a mere subway access point into an open, attractive urban space in the heart of Gelsenkirchen’s city center. With warm gray paving, the shady Georgshain and plenty of space for celebrations, a place for civic life has now been created once again. There is space for exercise and quiet areas, and the two imposing churches have once again become the focus of attention since the redesign.

Construction took a total of four years – after ten years of building work on the Hans-Sachs-Haus. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia paid 8 million euros of the construction costs, while the city of Gelsenkirchen covered the rest of the total construction costs of 10 million euros.

Originally, Heinrich-König-Platz was a lively square at ground level. With the construction of the underground light rail system in the 1980s, it became an oversized, winding subway entrance with terraces. It was unattractive and was even considered an inner-city area of fear due to its poor visibility. In order to promote urban redevelopment in Gelsenkirchen, the city decided to give the square back its lost attractiveness and central function.

The construction work was carried out in five phases between 2013 and 2017, starting with the superstructure of the trough leading to the light rail. Instead of the “hole”, a new access to the train station was created using stairs. The entrance with escalator was given a public toilet and two new elevators directly to the subway level. This was followed by the surface design of the square, which is now spacious and barrier-free. Its quiet center serves as an open space for movement and cultural use.

New recreational and seating areas such as the Georgshain made of light-colored Gleditschia trees invite people to linger. The memorial to the square’s namesake has also found a new location there: Heinrich König was a Gelsenkirchen priest who opposed National Socialism and died in the Dachau concentration camp. With a water feature for families, new light steles and a safe atmosphere, the redesign of Heinrich-König-Platz has given Gelsenkirchen back its historic center.

The surface design of Heinrich-König-Platz created a new, lively urban center. This was necessary because the city of Gelsenkirchen lacked such a social space for the urban community. Due to the generous funding from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, there was a great deal of interest in construction measures. Citizen participation processes showed that another building site was viewed skeptically, but also accepted as necessary.

As is often the case today, the landscape architects also had to convince the car lobby, as some parking spaces would be lost as a result of the conversion. By creating three short-term parking spaces in front of the medical center on the square and simplifying access to the subway, they were able to convince them with the overall concept.

The square has a functional character with a surface of ship’s bond. This artificial stone was chosen not least to create a visual link to the neighboring Ebertstraße. Natural stone paving was used on the edges. Stefan Bernard explains: “In the initial concepts, we had hoped to be able to design the entire square with natural stone slabs. However, this would have exceeded the budget, especially if we had gone for local stones. The selected concrete stones were then intensively sampled with all those involved and ultimately proved their worth. What’s more, they come from regional production. The small-scale natural stone paving along the façades is a kind of border to the square and is the right choice, especially in the vicinity of the two listed churches.”

The aim of the redesign of Heinrich-König-Platz was to provide a place of identification for the city of Gelsenkirchen. As a hinge between Ebertstraße and Bahnhofstraße, Heinrich-König-Platz was to take on a central function. Now, ten years later, landscape architect Stefan Bernard(now at studio polymorph, LandschaftsarchitektenBernard & Waszczuk PartGmbB) explains how this has developed: “The redesign of Heinrich-König-Platz is undoubtedly a gain for the city of Gelsenkirchen, the goals that were set seem to have been achieved. In everyday life, the square is wonderfully accepted and used by local residents. And thanks to its robust design, it can also withstand the many major events, some of which attract hundreds of guests.”

A look at the planning documents for Heinrich-König-Platz shows that around ten years ago, the focus was on other issues than would be the case today – accessibility instead of climate change. Stefan Bernard says: “Times and demands change. Landscape architectural design, as we at studio polymorph understand it, looks for the best possible solution within given requirements and objectives. We wanted an urban, robust square, the core premises were to improve safety, orientation and the concept of design for all. Our design meets all of these requirements and we have received a lot of positive feedback – not least from Gelsenkirchen.”

By the way: You can find another project by studio polymorph here.