The former Zollverein coal mine and coking plant is today an icon of the industrial age and a tourist attraction known beyond the borders of the Ruhr Area and Germany. The successful development after the decommissioning is guided by the maxim of “preservation through conversion”. However, not only museums, exhibition rooms and studios have moved into the small and large, sometimes huge buildings, where coke workers and miners used to work.
Zollverein has gained increasing economic significance in recent years, and approximately 1.600 new jobs have already been created on the World Heritage Site. Today, the raw materials of the future are produced at Zollverein: ideas, innovation, entrepreneurial spirit.
Place of work
The diversity of uses ranging from commercial enterprises, start-ups, tourism, culture, research and education ensures a sustainable development of Zollverein with radiant effects on the surrounding city districts.
The co-existence of new uses in historical buildings and high-quality new building projects makes the World Heritage Site a sought-after location for companies. Today, as many people work at Zollverein as there were in its above-ground facilities, when it was in operation.
Casino Zollverein
The low-pressure compressor house was converted into the event catering facility "Casino Zollverein" with the involvement of private investment. On the six-metre high concrete pillars inside the building, the traces of the heavy industrial past are still clearly visible.
Design hotel at Zollverein
At Shaft 1/2/8, where the history of Zollverein began, a design hotel with more than 67 rooms, individually designed on the themes of Zollverein, the Ruhr Area and the mining industry, was opened.
Events at Zollverein
On a total event space of 18.000 square metres, twelve location providers offer the suitable setting at the World Heritage Site for a variety of occasions: congresses, conferences, corporate events, product presentations, incentives or private celebrations.
The opening of the Grand Hall Zollverein was a milestone for the World Heritage Site as an event location. An investor community converted the former suction and compressor hall into an ultra-modern event location for up to 2.500 guests in keeping with monument preservation requirements.
Digital Campus Zollverein
Just as the Zollverein architects Fritz Schupp and Martin Kremmer reimagined architecture, companies from the digital economy are developing innovative solutions for business and industry at the World Heritage Site.
Location for creative industries
The rectangular halls of the so-called Comb Building on the „white side” of the Coking Plant are formed like the teeth of a comb. After the product development office MMID had moved in, a colourful mix of small firms from the creative industries has settled there.
The workshop, presentation and studio rooms with their large windows, ceiling heights of up to eight metres and a distinctive ambience are meanwhile also home to for example a furniture workshop, a tile manufactory, an art gallery and a soap shop.
Sustainable new building
An essential element for the development of the Zollverein business location is the new administrative headquarters of RAG Foundation and RAG Aktiengesellschaft at the Coking Plant.
New building of RAG AG and RAG FoundationUNESCO World Heritage Zollverein
The building is characterized by modern sustainability standards. Both the shape and the facade blend in with the listed ensemble of the World Heritage Site.
The green roof is accessible and creates a link to the adjacent industrial forest.
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