Waldbadviertel Cologne-Ostheim
On a clearing in the Ostheim district of Cologne, GAG Immobilien AG has created the Waldbadviertel, a contemporary residential area for almost 2,000 people. The small district is located in front of the originally agricultural Ostheim. A delicate network with the near-natural open and forest areas and the Waldbad (open-air swimming pool Vingst) in the west underlines the idyllic situation embedded in the green.
The natural quality of the site was the starting point for the urban design. Following historical settlement and garden city models, a green quarter with outstanding open space qualities was to be created here. Another central concern was the integration of the neighbourhood into the surrounding settlement and landscape area.
Urban planning and architecture were developed under the leadership of Lorenzen Mayer Architekten in cooperation with ASTOC, Dewey Muller, Meuterarchitekturbüro and Maier Architekten. The open space planning was developed in close cooperation with the offices of Becht Landscape Architecture and Förder Landschaftsarchitekten.
The new development of the quarter is oriented towards the superordinate east-west connection for cyclists and walkers between Cologne Ostheim and the Vingst open-air swimming pool. It forms the architectural framework for an elongated public park which, as a green centre, centres the new quarter and links it with its surroundings. In combination with the entrance courtyards along the access road and the neighbourhood square, this creates an appropriate urban setting with open spaces that can be used in a variety of ways.