Urban Soul

Bonn, Germany

Visualization © CxS

Drawing © CxS

Architects: CROSS Architecture

Location: Bonn, Germany
Year: 2020
Client: die developer Projektentwicklung GmbH
Akquise: Verhandlungsverfahren nach VOB / A 
Fachplaner: TGA: ZWP-Ingenieur AG  | Statik: NAI Nagaraj Ingenieure  | Statik: KKK Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH  | Brandschutz: Dr. Heins und P
Architekt: CROSS Architecture
Projektteam: M. Sporer, C. Wens, S. Vijgen, T. Mitschke, L. Polaczek, P. Cook, J. Stemper 
Bruttogrundfläche BGF: 40.000 m²
Wettbewerb: März 2014
Baubeginn: Mai 2017

Urban Development – During the reorganization of the city railway in the seventies, the historic structure in front of the central station in Bonn was destroyed. Since then, reconstruction has only been partially completed and therefore left a delicate wound to the urban tissue between the station and the historic city center: A “hole” in the city shaping the arriving travelers’ first impression to this very date. After more than 45 years, the project “Urban Soul” provides the chance to conquer the location´s wasted potentials and activate them through a solution inspired by the spirit of the “genius loci”.

Urban Space and Mixed Use – The design blends harmonically into the city´s morphology by picking up on the granularity of the city center´s block structure. The three individual buildings are carefully positioned to create new pathways and urban spaces yielding vivid and high quality surroundings. While the city gets a new entrée leading towards the historic center, the almost intimate “Piazza” on Maximilianstraße emerges as a Mediterranean space with gastronomy, seating furniture and extensive flower beds.

The buildings‘ utilization concepts are all about diversification – they offer numerous possibilities for a sustainable development of urban diversity at this gateway to the city. In addition to retail spaces at both Post- and Maximilianstraße, gastronomy and the new hotel contribute to a long-lasting vivification of the urban space. State-of-the-art office spaces and an adjacent car park at Rabinstraße complement the urban mixed use.