A MAKEOVER FOR COLOGNE'S KALK DISTRICT: ARCHITECTURE BRAND LONG-FORMAT CLINKER BRICK SLIPS FOR A MODERN OFFICE COMPLEX

"There is always something happening on the right bank of the Rhine" is the slogan of the Cologne district of Kalk. That was not always the case: in 1992, a comprehensive urban redevelopment project was initiated in Kalk to free the district from its shadowy existence close to a chemical factory. Around 17 years later, the results were impressive: vacant plots had been filled, living space created, and the infrastructure upgraded. This successful urban development turned what used to be the not very pretty district of Kalk into a popular business and office location. One of these prestigious properties is now getting a makeover in the form of 5,000 m2 cladded with clinker brick slips from Ströher.

The long-format custom-made architectural firing brick slips have been used as cladding on the compact office property "b3 campus" in Dillenburger Strasse, which was handed over by the project developer OSMAB to the city of Cologne as a tenant at the beginning of 2018, after a two-year construction phase. The two-part building complex provides a generous 13,500 square metres of rental space, and was designed by Cologne-based firm KF Architekten. The design is impressive even at first glance: bright, friendly, open and functional. Low window sills and a connecting bridge between the two parts of the building ensure visibility and open up the interior to the outside. The high quality building design also continues in the interior due to the large windows.

TThe industrial-looking facade provides a further insight into the history of the site: in the first half of the 19th century, the population of Cologne doubled to around 100,000 inhabitants. In order to meet the increased demand for building materials for housing, storage areas for sand, lime and – appropriately – bricks, were created in the area that is today covered by the b3 campus in Kalk. That was yesterday, and today the dazzling building on historic ground impresses partly thanks to clinker brick slips from Ströher. The choice was taken to use an architectural firing product specially developed for the building, which captures the history of the site and complements the industrial-looking character with a classic brick look.