New life for the old cafeteria: students design Wismar's cult building around

New life for the old cafeteria: students design Wismar's cult building around

Wismar. The historical construction of the old cafeteria at the Friedenshof, since its closure in 2018 in a sad state, the focus is on exciting plans! The Wobau, the housing association of the Hanseatic City, acquired the listed building in 2020 in order to use it as a new company headquarters. But the time of the disco and the milk bar is over and the cult building threatens to fall further.

Now fresh wind comes into play! Students of the Wismar University of Architecture and Interior Architecture have developed creative usage concepts for the impressive 3500 square meters of the building. "The focus is currently on the renovation of pollutants," said Wobau managing director Katharina Franzke. The construction probably contains harmful materials that have to be removed before the renovation. "We first do a naked building," explains Joachim Brinkmann, who is responsible for the construction department.

DACH makes the GDR building in Wismar especially

The seven unique umbrella shells of the GDR architect Ulrich Müther are the heart of the building, but they also bring challenges. These architectural masterpieces, which cover large rooms with minimal material, must be adapted as office buildings for the planned use. The students have developed innovative space-in-room solutions to preserve the original structure and at the same time create space for modern offices. A new atrium should also ensure more light.

"The shell rooms are intended for major events, not for offices," explains Professor Michael Rudnik. But the creative minds continue to think: a café and a public mothers archive are just a few of the exciting ideas that are taken into account in the designs. Katharina Franzke is enthusiastic: "Many good ideas!" The renovation could be completed in four to five years, but whether there is space for celebrations again in the new building? "Unfortunately no," she says. Instead, the basement could be used as an ice storage to generate energy. So the future of the old cafeteria remains exciting!