After 25 years, the city of Siegen is getting its river back. And that’s not all: the “Zu neuen Ufern” project by Atelier Loidl was awarded the bdla Landscape Architecture Prize 2017.

“To new shores” is the title of the urban development concept for Siegen’s city center. Its core: the uncovering of the city river Sieg, which the city administration ceremoniously returned to the citizens in 2016 after 25 years of being covered over. The new design is well received: The bdla awarded the project the Landscape Architecture Prize in the “Green Infrastructure as a Strategy” category at the beginning of May 2017. The development of the concept, from modeling to implementation, can be followed here in the video.

With the “Zu neuen Ufern” project, the city of Siegen is giving its river back to its citizens after 25 years of being covered over. The concept was developed by Atelier Loidl from Berlin. Siegen University was also involved in modeling the riverbank and designing the riverbed. The department kept the topic of “river uncovering” constantly under discussion. For the final phase of the project, a 15-metre-long model was used to simulate high and low water scenarios. The Research Institute for Water and the Environment at the University of Siegen developed plans for the reconstruction of a “natural” riverbed.

The result is a lively urban space, both day and night, which benefits the entire city. And the bdla is also enthusiastic. It awarded the 2017 Landscape Architecture Prize to the “Zu neuen Ufern” project. According to the jury, the generous open spaces of the new riverbank design combine the diverse demands of residents for urban living and ‘green’ recreation in direct contact with the element of water.

Anette Kolkau reports on the “Zu neuen Ufern” project in the June 2017 issue of Garten + Landschaft.

Find out more about the Landscape Architecture Prize 2017 here!

The fire that raged for days on Table Mountain in April 2021 destroyed a lot. The damage is now visible at the University of Cape Town. Very rare historical documents have been burnt The University of Cape Town is located at the foot of Table Mountain. Here, in the Jagger Library, was one of the oldest, if not the oldest collection of books in South Africa. There was an abundance […]

The fire that raged for days on Table Mountain in April 2021 destroyed a lot. The damage is now visible at the University of Cape Town. Very rare historical documents have been burnt

The University of Cape Town is located at the foot of Table Mountain. Here, in the Jagger Library, was one of the oldest, if not the oldest collection of books in South Africa. There was a wealth of unique sources on African history, including rich audio and visual documents from more recent times. The collection of books and periodicals alone was estimated at around 85,000 items, including many prints from before 1925.

But on April 20, 2021, a fire broke out in the attic of the reading room. Everything was in flames. The cause was a bush fire that had been raging since April 18. The library’s reading room and everything inside fell victim to the flames. “There was nothing left but a few charred books,” reports qualified paper conservator Tina Löhr.

Löhr lives and works in Cologne and specializes in rescuing books and documents. Among other things, she was involved in recovering the treasures of the Cologne City Archives, which collapsed in 2009 as a result of building work. On April 20, she learned from the news that – around 10,000 kilometers away from Cologne – one of the most famous and precious libraries on the African continent was on fire. The moment she saw the images of the fire in the media, she knew she had to help. Löhr contacted a colleague.

Twenty years ago, she had completed an internship with Dale Peters, a restorer in the city of Durban in South Africa. She asked if she was needed. Peters’ answer was: yes, absolutely. “You know how few restorers we have.” Five days later, Tina Löhr was in Cape Town. Two hours after her arrival, she was picked up by a colleague. Mary Minicka is also a conservator and also specializes in paper.

“I lent a hand straight away”

Löhr and Minicka were now the only paper restorers on site. “I got straight down to work. Nothing was discussed, no site plan was drawn up. I arrived, was introduced and looked for work,” says Tina Löhr. Experts and volunteers in Cape Town had already been busy with the rescue work for several days at that point, and the processes were well organized. There was a good atmosphere on site, says Löhr. “Everyone was totally committed, everyone showed dedication.”

The extinguishing water ran from the reading room on the first floor into the basement, where the holdings were stored in normal archive shelves or cupboards. Within days it would start to get moldy. So there was an acute need for action. First aid measure for water damage: freezing. “That buys you time,” says Löhr. The university had already set up shipping containers to act as cold storage. “Knowing where you can freeze things is part of every emergency plan in an archive.”

Training for more conservators in South Africa

Particularly valuable items for Löhr were the first historical development plans of Cape Town. She also held an entire suitcase in her hand, completely soaked, in which sketches and drawings by an artist had been stored. She took the most important pieces to the restoration tent, where Minicka set about saving the papers. Colleagues from the United States and the Netherlands provided advice in an online group. After a week, Tina Löhr had to leave again. It will take three to four years to rebuild the collection.

“Of course, it also depends on the capacities. If there is only one restorer there, then it could take six or seven years,” says Löhr. The extinguishing water has damaged many of the books – they now have to dry out and be restored piece by piece. The reconstruction of the archive will be used to train more restorers in South Africa. “This way, something useful can come out of this terrible disaster,” says Mary Minicka.