Design 3: Transition for Max Becker Areal

To successfully address the climate crisis, we must stop viewing urban districts as mere collections of buildings and instead design them as living organisms whose metabolism forms the foundation for tackling these climatic challenges. Systems such as water, green spaces, and soil have a profound impact on the quality of life within a district and extend their influence far beyond its boundaries.

For such a design approach, we will focus on the Max Becker Areal, located in the left-bank district of Cologne-Ehrenfeld. Currently, this 13-hectare site is closed off to the public and used for recycling scrap metal with heavy machinery. Due to spatial constraints in the city, the company is relocating its operations to the industrially utilized Niehler Hafen.

This relocation creates an opportunity to integrate the site into the urban fabric and to realize urgently needed functions in this central location—such as housing, workspaces, culture, education, energy supply, and local amenities—in harmony with socio-ecological demands for a climate-adaptive city.