Clemens Galleries, Solingen

A new inner-city retail trade complex with a cinema centre, offices and an adult education centre

The multi-functional shopping centre Clemens Galleries, in the upper and most frequented part of the pedestrian zone, is right in the city centre of Solingen, the knife city in the “Bergischen Land” region.

Thanks to the rerouted traffic and traffic calming measures this part of the inner-city has received a new and positive development opportunity and the Cle-mens Galleries have given it a fresh and attractive face.

The pedestrian precinct was extended and received a further attractive urban planning element with the addition of a public square. Scale and careful urban development for the purposes of city revitalization stood in the foreground of planning.

The Clemens Galleries are marked by approx. 14,000 m² retail trade area, a multiplex cinema, office space, education institutions, libraries and catering, which all contribute to the liveliness of the newly created urban quality.

The galleries are an attractive example of handling an imaginative urban redevelopment which offers new development potential to the city centre. The selected materials, the human dimension and not least the architectural quality are integrated in the existing surroundings. With the integration of the public square “Mühlenplatz”, a communication platform for a large number of inner-city functions has been made available. A distribution function has been created which also offers ideal conditions for events and shows and Solingen’s weekly market.

The facades of the Galleries show an interplay between local ornamented brick surfaces, steel and glass elements and transparent glass roofs flooded with light. The materials used in the exterior facades proceed into the interior, merging these two areas with each other.