The Koch site, originally a peripheral industrial area and later an occupied space that offered the city an interdisciplinary cultural meeting place, is now seamlessly integrated into the urban fabric. It is developing into a mixed-use neighborhood that combines residential and commercial functions. At the center of the site is a district park beneath the 118-meter roof of the former coal storage hall, transformed into a weather-protected park space and illuminated by circular glass block skylights. The roof is carried by a historic, ingenious timber structure as well as a new, delicate black-steel space frame supported by only four columns. At dusk, the warm artificial light of the new lighting system invites visitors to enter the space while simultaneously animating the historic timber roof structure. This is achieved with one row of luminaires positioned high in the roof and two further rows mounted lower down, coordinated as a unified system.
