Arena Park in Gelsenkirchen has hosted Europe's leading outpatient centre for health and rehabilitation, medicos.AufSchalke, for several years. To meet rising demand and expand its offerings in rehabilitation, prevention, and sports medicine, the facility required a substantial extension, which opened its doors in spring 2021. The comprehensive project carried a price tag of approximately €11.5 million. The Vollack Group—specialists in healthcare, office, and industrial construction—designed and delivered the building in just eighteen months. They had already successfully completed the first medicos facility at Arena Park. From the outset, the project presented a significant challenge: 10,000 m³ of contaminated soil required excavation and disposal.

The 5,000 m² expansion allows medicos.AufSchalke to reorganize its interdisciplinary services more effectively. "Our services now operate across two buildings with optimized departmental flows and efficient routing—something the two-winged design afforded us," notes Bernd Hartmann, partner at Vollack in Wesseling. Building two's ground floor houses a radiology and orthopaedic clinic alongside a café with outdoor seating, complemented by a 38-space underground garage. The first floor accommodates psychosomatic medicine, therapy planning, administration, and expert assessment functions. The second floor hosts the Sports Medicine Institute, a professional development academy, and additional offices. The crown jewel sits on the third floor: a 300 m² exercise hall reaching up to 6.7 metres high, distinguished by its light bronze aluminium façade. Floor-to-ceiling glazing on two sides frames views of the historic Parkstadion, while the opposite side opens to a terrace via a lounge. The hall features specialized sports flooring for sprint diagnostics and movement therapy. Interior design prioritizes comfort: light oak strip flooring radiates warmth, generous glazing floods spaces with natural light, and strategic colour accents aid navigation. Heat management is equally forward-thinking. A local energy provider already supplies the VeltinsArena and surrounding Berger Feld buildings through a centralized heating and cooling hub—with sufficient capacity to serve the new building. The underfloor heating system delivers heating or cooling on demand.

www.vollack.de

Photography Credits:

Vollack Group
Yvonne Neff, medicos.AufSchalke

(From CUBE Ruhrgebiet 03|21)