The façade of the "Old Pastorate" looked rather lost when the excavators arrived in 2019 and cleared the way for a striking new building with urban planning significance. But, as architect Raimund Hölscher explains, it was a defining element in the design of the "New and Old Pastorate", which was to be built on this site by spring 2021. Today, the renovated, bright and stucco-decorated façade shines in new splendor and is embedded in the new building complex with its timelessly modern and lively brick façade, which was designed by the Heiligenhaus-based architectural firm Studio Hölscher.

Accessibility is a keyword that applies in many ways to the building, which was constructed in accordance with DIN 18040 (standard for barrier-free construction). The main tenant Pro Mobil, which operates a modern, largely wheelchair-accessible hotel and a large day care center for children geared towards inclusion, is concerned with integration. The association also uses the barrier-free office space for administrative purposes for its services for people with disabilities. The building itself is also perfectly integrated into its surroundings. It is located on a traffic-calmed thoroughfare to the city center and forms a link to the external site of Bochum University of Applied Sciences. The city's site development plans envisage creating new amenity qualities in the urban area through this axis of reference to the university campus. In future, a new place to spend time will be created next to the site by means of an additional public square. For this reason, the inner courtyard was aligned in the south-western direction of the new square with access via the street "Am Alten Pastorat" in the design development. "To support this concept, the curve of the cubature opens up the inner courtyard further towards the visual axis between the city center and the university campus and also serves as an entrance area," explains Raimund Hölscher. The L-shaped new building adjoins the Old Pastorate, which was rebuilt on the same site in its former cubature. This stands out clearly from the existing building due to its design and the materials used. From the main street, this creates the impression of two independent buildings. Only in the inner courtyard do the two structures merge due to the continuous brick façade and the ribbon windows. A striking feature of the brick slips is the changing color perception depending on light and weather conditions, which creates a dynamic effect. The special format of the brick slips also supports the horizontal arrangement of the ribbon windows, which are also integrated into the façade concept in terms of color.

www.studio-hoelscher.de

Photos:

Philip Kistner
www.philipkistner.com

(Published in CUBE Ruhr Area 04|22)