Appraisal procedure

The winning design shows three squares and three free-standing buildings between Straße der Nationen and Mühlenstraße. A square has been created within the neighbourhood that can also be reached from the passageway behind the Karl Marx Monument. Käthe-Kollwitz-Straße does not have a uniform building line, unlike in the last urban planning design for the area as part of the Free State's competition.

What is the idea behind the design?

It envisages the development of the new "theatre quarter" between the building at Straße der Nationen 23 and Käthe-Kollwitz-Straße. It ties in with the spatial sequences of the city centre and structurally mediates between the modern SIB building and the subsequent Wilhelminian-style structures. The staggered spaces link the lines of movement from Brühl and Straße der Nationen to the south. A mixture of townhouses and larger shopping centres are to be created on the building plots. Upper floors are intended for urban living. The inner squares and paths are traffic-calmed.

The city will coordinate the next steps for the "theatre quarter" with the Free State.

The Free State had held a competition for the government centre so that the new buildings could have been implemented without touching the prefabricated buildings.
According to critics, if Lohrer's winning design is realised, the GGG prefabricated building behind the Heckert building would have to be demolished in order to build one of the central residential blocks. This would probably make the entire project impossible, because demolishing the building would hardly be feasible for reasons of tenancy law and also for economic reasons. The question arises as to who should then build the other two blocks, right behind the office complex, as residential blocks.

The winning design - like all other designs - is initially linked to the urban development concept by Albert Speer & Partner for the further development of Brühl and its connection to the city centre, according to which the rows of flats on Mühlenstrasse should be replaced by scale quarters in the long term.

The next steps will involve examining how the overall idea of the design can be realised as a whole or in stages. Here, the city is at the very beginning of corresponding coordination with the property owners.

The utilisation concept of the winning design is based on a mixed-use quarter - with an interesting sequence of public spaces. We also see opportunities for attractive city centre living.

It is incomprehensible why the reconstruction of the former "HeckArt" terraced house is not integrated into the development of the new "Friedrichsplatz", but remains free-standing and instead another free-standing building is planned behind the "HeckArt". This is not very attractive from an urban planning perspective. This is followed by another opinion, according to which it does not make sense that the block of flats behind the "HeckArt" should be removed and then a building added. After all, the Brühl is supposed to be connected to the city centre. The new building would rather close off the Brühl. How is the design to be understood here?

In terms of its scale, the "HeckArt" is rather unsuitable to be integrated into a new neighbourhood, which will probably be higher storeys at this point. That is why it was deliberately left free and could give the square in front of it an address. The existing residential block blocks off the connection to Brühl and Theaterplatz. This task can be accomplished much better with a new building. The link to Brühl is created via a sequence of public open spaces. A closure cannot be recognised here.

The name "Theatre Quarter" makes too little reference to the history of the neighbourhood and should be reconsidered. The naming of the planned neighbourhoods, streets and squares would have great significance and should be chosen with care.

The name "Theatre Quarter" may not be historically correct, but it describes the location and the task of linking it to the theatre square quite well. Incidentally, almost all participating offices chose this name. The term is initially only a working title, but could support the marketing very well. Historical references can certainly be made when naming the new public streets and squares, even if a reconstruction of the old city layout does not appear to be expedient at this point. There is a regulated naming procedure in Chemnitz in which the public can also be involved.

The property belongs to the Free State of Saxony. Does the city know whether the demolition of the building at Straße der Nationen 23 has been finalised? In this context, the opening of both the ground floor and the façade of the "Parteifalte" is also welcomed in order to support a connection to the art collections and make the neighbourhood development visible. How will the City of Chemnitz ensure that the Free State is generally involved in the realisation of the plans?

The tender documents for the appraisal process were drawn up for the area of the construction site with the involvement of the Staatsbetrieb Sächsisches Immobilien- und Baumanagement (SIB). With regard to the building at Straße der Nationen 23, the tender includes the statement that this building can be demolished.

According to the ideas of lohrer.hochrein, the SIB building is to undergo a transformation derived from the overall concept from the previously limiting spatial edge to a permeable element that builds a bridge between the existing centre and its future expansion. Among other things, a generous passageway to the theatre quarter behind it is intended to ensure urban permeability. On the ground floor, "interspersed" shop zones ensure that the areas are noticeably revitalised and linked. The SIB can also well imagine this solution.

The extent to which the idea of a hole in the façade can be realised depends on further coordination processes with the building owner and the listed building authorities. In terms of urban planning, this idea would be desirable in order to see the buildings behind it. Lohrer quote: "Then you realise that there is still something behind it that is worth going to. But we are currently still working on the urban planning level; the architecture of buildings is a different planning stage. It is essential that the basic structure of modernist architecture is retained, but that the character of the party line is broken as a barrier - perhaps with a wink."

The winning design argues that further city centre development can only succeed along the Straße der Nationen. Is this view also correct from a property industry perspective? What potential and necessary steps are seen?

If you want to develop the city centre further, you can only do so along the Straße der Nationen. The street connects important elements of the city centre such as Theaterplatz, the main railway station, the university and the link to Brühl with the immediate city centre. The winning design speaks metaphorically of a "ladder", one could also say "string of pearls".

It is imperative to overcome Brückenstrasse. In addition to the proposed peripheral development at the park, the theatre quarter in particular offers potential for significant structural extensions with frequency-supporting uses, including retail space. If this potential is exploited, the inner-city retail landscape can be noticeably revitalised and the quality of the location on the Straße der Nationen towards Theaterplatz and the main railway station improved.