The time is soon to come: In May 2021, construction work is to begin on the long-awaited community house at the playground in Lohsepark in HafenCity. The colorful wooden house with a lookout tower and green roof by rethmeierschlaich architekten will be built in the area of the playground on the western side of the park. This will create a social meeting place for visitors of all ages in the park.
Gemeinschaftshäuser Lohsepark © rethmeierschlaich architekten
One can already guess where the community house will be located: since the house and its location were co-planned from the beginning as an integral part of Lohsepark and the playground, the play areas in this area are only temporary and are mainly simply designed with lawns and hedges.
Preparatory work from the end of February 2021
In order to be able to start the construction in time, the hedges within the play area are being removed at the moment. Subsequently, some trees have to be taken out of the ground in order to have enough space for the construction site equipment. However, these measures are only temporary: once the building is completed, the adjacent parking areas will be restored and the trees replanted. Then the fenced-in play area will finally be fully usable as well: Due to the construction work, the area will be temporarily somewhat restricted in size for the construction period until September 2022.
Common place through common design
As one of a total of three community houses in HafenCity’s parks – the other two are being built in Grasbrookpark and Baakenpark – the house in Lohsepark will become a new meeting place for a wide range of neighborhood activities. The wooden building designed by rethmeierschlaich architekten is bold, colorful, inviting and visible from afar thanks to its observation tower.
The utilization concept was worked on intensively with the active participation of the neighborhood. Inside, the community center will be flexible in use: Half of the space will be available for community use as a neighborhood office with two multipurpose rooms and a kitchen. The other half will provide functions for the park and play areas. A café, public restrooms and storage areas for loaner equipment and toys are also planned. It will be ready in the fall of 2022.
You can also learn more information on our Architectural tour HafenCity East.