Six special features at Kö-Bogen II and Gustaf-Gründgens-Platz

After extensive redesign, the area in the middle of the city center offers architectural and cultural highlights

Good things come to those who wait: for almost 30 years, namely since 1992, the city of Düsseldorf and architect Christoph Ingenhoven have been pondering the redesign of the area around Gustaf-Gründgens-Platz. Goodbye to the "millipede" elevated road with its endless traffic, welcome to sustainable construction that offers pedestrians and cyclists an environmentally friendly shopping and leisure experience in the immediate vicinity of the Schauspielhaus and Dreischeibenhaus. Construction work, including the Wehrhahn line, lasted from 2009 to 2020, and since then locals and visitors alike have been enjoying an outstanding project that is attracting worldwide attention - and perhaps you too will be captivated!

Open-air stage at the Schauspielhaus

Shakespeare would surely be ecstatic if he were able to visit Gustaf-Gründgens-Platz at dusk on a - shall we say - balmy June day. After all, the place proves to be the perfect backdrop for summer night dreams come true - when the Schauspielhaus puts on performances on its open-air stage! Then, for example, Nibelung Alberich and the gods from Valhalla whizz through the scenery in front of up to 400 spectators. Or a huge pack of mice spreads out at breakneck speed to invite the young audience on the adventures of the "extremely strong Willibald". The actors, dancers and singers even opened the 2021/22 season with the open-air theater festival on Gustaf-Gründgens-Platz. In the late hours of the day, projections in sign language can also be followed on the open-air stage.

Green Architecture Kö-Bogen II

It grows up to 40 centimetres in twelve months, its wood is white-greyish - and it likes to keep people in the dark about its age, as annual rings are barely visible: the hornbeam. This tree has a huge impact on the appearance of Kö-Bogen II. After all, architect Christoph Ingenhoven had a total of 30,000 representatives of the native species "transplanted" in 3,500 troughs as an environmentally friendly façade - setting a record in the process. The building, which is designed with a sloping roof and houses offices and retail outlets on Schadowstrasse, is considered the greenest in Europe! The idea: the hornbeams improve the climate by storing moisture and binding carbon dioxide, among other things. According to Ingenhoven, the ecological benefits of the shrubs are equivalent to those of around 80 mature deciduous trees. This also convinced the juries of numerous national and international architectural competitions, which awarded the entire complex many prizes.

Restaurant in the theater 

A dramatic scene full of fear and despair where the audience holds its breath - and your stomach growls so loudly that the whole theater can hear it? You can easily avoid this with a visit to the Schillings restaurant. Located in the same building, you can enjoy a tasty meal here at almost any time of day from Tuesdays to Sundays. Whether for lunch between 12.30 and 14.00, coffee in the afternoon or dinner between 17.00 and 22.30. With specialties such as truffle fries, Argentinian red prawns, cod with a lemon crust or ox cheeks braised in Altbier, nobody goes home hungry - or, as mentioned, to the next show "next door". In addition to a large wine list, the "theater platter" awaits you with a selection of cheese and ham as well as tomato jam and grilled vegetables. Dramatically good!

A home for the skater scene 

Ice hockey, soccer and skating? In Düsseldorf, the scene is so popular that it even has its own event called "Skateweekend", which attracts fans of the sport from far and wide to the city. The Kö-Bogen-II area is also attracting new enthusiasm, after a skate park here attracted young Düsseldorfers many years ago. Not least thanks to its roller-friendly, particularly smooth mastic asphalt and the deliberately skate-friendly design elements such as ramp-like edges to the beds, the area in front of the Schauspielhaus is the perfect backdrop for kick-flips, slides and ollies that can only amaze outsiders. In the shadow of the Dreischeibenhaus, on the other side of the streetcar tracks, boarders and BMX riders also meet regularly to roll over concrete benches with the help of ramps. 

Quickly in the green  

Fortunately, Düsseldorf has many green spaces. But only a few can claim to be the "first park on the square". In the case of the Hofgarten, this is literally true, as it borders directly on Gustaf-Gründgens-Platz. So if you want to stretch your legs after a shopping spree, during your lunch break or after a visit to the Schauspielhaus, you will find the best opportunity to do so on the spot - and encounter more than just one highlight. To name just a few: Just a few hundred meters from Kö-Bogen II, walkers, inline skaters, cyclists and skateboard fans will come across Henry Moore's bronze sculpture "Reclining Figure in Two Parts" from 1969, the "Meninas", the court maids by Manolo Valdés after Velázquez, or the light benches designed by artist Stefan Sous. They adorn both sides of the Jägerhof avenue.

Flying high 

How many cities can you think of off the top of your head where you can easily climb onto rooftops without provoking a major police and fire department operation? No problem at Gustaf-Gründgens-Platz! The market hall, also designed by architect Christoph Ingenhoven, has a restaurant that welcomes burger fans, a supermarket and a drugstore chain and offers a completely new perspective on the city. Only opening in October 2021, the walkable lawn area of the Kö-Bogen II building invites you to relax in the middle of the city. All you need is a picnic blanket, cold drink and cake and your happiness is complete.

Cover picture: © ingenhoven architects HGEsch