Ruhrpark Bochum

A new Food Court as an extension of an existing shopping centre

The project is on the site of the Ruhrpark Bochum, one of the first shopping centres to be established in Germany in the 1970’s. Thanks to numerous extensions that have been carried out since then, it has never lost its attraction as a shopping location in the Eastern Ruhr Region.

The centre itself and the shops and department stores in it, for example Karstadt, C&A, Sinn Leffers, and the UCI cinema complex, are accessed by a system of roofed but open walkways, so that the impression of a heterogeneous structure - similar to an inner-city situation - results, rather than one of a centre with a complete design look.

During the summer months numerous street cafés offer an atmosphere inviting you to relax and stay a while, which plays an increasingly more important role besides pure shopping. In order to improve this attractive and inviting atmosphere during the winter months as well, the centre manager envisaged the extension of the centre by means of a "food court" which should complement what was already available with a wider variety of gastronomic offers.
To achieve these aims the project is envisaged with a central market hall as its main element, in which the necessary functions are accommodated. In the middle of the hall and surrounded by a parapet wall is the seating area, inviting you to linger and providing a location where you can consume your meal. Surrounding this is the walkway which also has a few tables and chairs on it, but at the same time provides the connection to the various gastronomic establishments.

The majority of the establishments present themselves over a counter where the guest receives their meal before looking for somewhere to sit down in the middle of the hall.
This made it possible to accommodate the ancillary rooms necessary for the catering trade at the rear of the building, where most of the central functions like rubbish collection etc. were able to be bundled.

The entire hall is roofed over by a glulam timber beam and steel construction that is held above the hall’s perimeter walls by glazing, making the roof look like a lightweight disk.

The new building has created an attractive extension of the centre which fulfils today's requirements of a multifunctional shopping centre in a modern way.