Clearly offset by a gap from the existing structures, the 5 storey transparent steel building extension of the Nordstern tower climbed by 84 meters. A panorama platform on the 18th floor gives visitors a unique view over the entire Nordstern site. Public access is achieved via a narrow concrete connecting tower. On the roof, there is an 18 meter high sculpture of Hercules by the artist Markus Lüpertz, which makes the building visible from afar as an unmistakable work of art.
The extension of the pithead tower of Shaft II at Zeche Nordstern was one of seven lighthouse projects implemented within the framework of Culture Capital Ruhr.2010.
Projects
ZECHE NORDSTERN
A LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT OF THE CULTURE CAPITAL RUHR.2010
The coal mine Zeche Nordstern in Gelsenkirchen-Horst was the first coal mine north of the river Emscher in 1868. 140 years later, the former pithead tower of Shaft II was to be converted to an office and cultural building with a video art centre. The plan was to extend the tower, to rebuild the interior and to strengthen it. The architectural concept for these building measures envisaged the transformation of the building as a lighthouse project widely visible to reflect the structural change taking place in the Ruhr region.
The latticed framework of the existing tower with its riveted steel trusses could be preserved to the greatest possible extent. Only the existing concrete ceilings needed to be strengthened with trussed steel beams in the newly used areas.
The enthralling combination of old and new was planned and implemented with technical skill. (…) The revitalization and extension of the old steel structure is a good example of sustainable longevity.
| Client | THS GMBH, GELSENKIRCHEN |
| Architect | Prof. Petzinka, Düsseldorf, mit René Clasen und Nathalie Ness |
| Location | GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY |
| Completion | 2010 |
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