Workshop result is certain: The Plärrer becomes green!For the redesign of the Plärrer, the result of the municipal workshop procedure has been determined: The jury unanimously decided to propose the design of the Munich office realgrün with Brenner Ingenieure (Aalen) to the city council for further commissioning. Among other things, this plan provides for the planting of over 100 additional trees and, as a dominant design element, a ring-shaped green wall at the site of the former fountain.
The city of Nuremberg intends to reorganize and redesign the Plärrer, one of the most important inner-city traffic account points, in the course of necessary renovation work on the subway system. For this had been on 14. November 2019 the city planning committee decided to carry out an elaborate competitive workshop procedure. The city planning office had selected 20 offices from the fields of architecture, urban planning and landscape planning, which already have a lot of experience with comparable tasks, and asked them about their basic interest in working on this planning task. After positive feedback, 14 offices were invited to apply for participation in the workshop for the redesign of the Plärrer together with qualified traffic planning offices.
In a first round, four internationally composed planning teams, each consisting of urban planners, open space planners and traffic planners, were commissioned to develop appropriate planning proposals. The following were commissioned: realgrün Landschaftsarchitekten Munich, with Brenner Ingenieure, Aalen, Gehl Architekten Copenhagen, with Argus Stadt- und Verkehr Partnerschaft, Hamburg, Arup Ingenieurbüro, Berlin-London, and Artgineering Stadt- und Landschaftsplaner Brussels with Komobile w7 GmbH Verkehrsplaner, Vienna.
The city's overriding goal is an at least partial reclamation of the Plärrer as a central urban space at the interface between the old town and the adjoining urban fabric, as well as an upgrading of its functions for public transportation customers, pedestrians and cyclists. The city was aware that this was a very complex task in which the planning teams had to deal with a large number of conflicting objectives.
The concrete demands included: to ensure the functionality of the Plärrer as a central traffic hub with motorized individual traffic, subway, streetcar, buses, cyclists and pedestrians; to give pedestrians and cyclists more, safe and barrier-free space; to maintain and enlarge green spaces and to significantly improve the quality of public space as well as to present ideas for further development in which the Plärrer is burdened with fewer cars.
In addition to the task set by the city, the results of a parallel public participation were also incorporated into the process, the core result of which was the need for more green, more space for pedestrians and more space for cyclists. On Wednesday, 9. September 2020, the designs were presented to a top-class jury in the Kulturwerkstadt on AEG.
Under the expert guidance of Prof. Christa Reicher, member of the architectural advisory board, the representatives of the city council factions (councilman Konrad Schuh, councilwoman Christine Kayser, councilman Cengiz Sahin), Prof. Dr. Klaus Schäfer, and Prof. Dr. Peter Schäfer discussed the issue. Ulrike Böhm, landscape architect and member of the architectural advisory board, traffic expert Wolfgang Haller and Annette Willmann-Hohmann from the government of Middle Franconia, which is supporting the process as part of the urban development funding, and planning and building officer Daniel F. Ulrich the drafts. The members of the jury were supported by a large team of experts.
The designs ranged from very green approaches to strongly built solutions. Also in terms of traffic, the whole range of possibilities and wishes was presented. In the end, the committee unanimously decided to propose the design of the Munich office realgrün with Brenner Ingenieure (Aalen) to the city council for further commissioning.
In terms of traffic relations, the winning design is largely based on a modern reduction of the existing structure, but develops it further in an intelligent and cautious manner. The edges of the island will be accentuated and enhanced by generous tree plantings, which will have both a climatic and an urban spatial effect. The Plärrer is to become greener, more than 100 additional trees are proposed. A ring-shaped green wall at the site of the former fountain is envisaged as the dominant design element. This green ring, a possibility space with the working title "Plärrerpuck" is permeable in the pedestrian area. A small café is to enliven the space below. As additional elements are to be game-. Water surfaces enhance the area.
"What is important to me is that the design that has now been adopted allows for a maximum green as well as a very pedestrian-friendly public transport node Plärrer, in addition, the many gaps in the cycle path network can be completely closed with the concept," says planning and building officer Daniel F. Ulrich. The outcome of the workshop will be reported to the city planning committee on 24. September 2020 informed. The realgrün office is to be commissioned with the further development of their design and will present the result, presumably in the fall of 2020, to the city council, the experts and the public. The implementation of the planning should take place promptly, since static and waterproofing problems of the subway cover do not allow a postponement.