Cologne Metropolis Information: 10 Initiatives You Should not Miss
Cologne City Guide: 10 Projects You Shouldn’t Miss
Driven by its culturally and historically-rich context, Cologne is considered as one of the oldest and most populous cities in Germany. It was founded in the Ubii territory in the 1st century AD and was once the capital of the Roman province and headquarters of the Roman military in the region. During the Middle Ages, it became a central trade route between Eastern and Western Europe, and then became known for its production of Eau de Cologne in the 18th century, bringing about its modern name.
The city’s urban fabric boasts an array of ancient and contemporary landmarks, featuring the tallest cathedral in the world and one of the most visited pilgrimage destinations in Europe, along with state-of-the-art projects that put German engineering and innovation at the forefront.
Combining history, politics, arts, and culture, the city has a lot to offer, especially for architecture and design enthusiasts.
If you plan on visiting Cologne soon for the International Interiors and Furniture Fair (IMM Cologne) or exploring the richness of Rhineland, we have put together a list of 10 must-see sites in the German city so you can have some ideas for your next trip.
The BAN is a pilot project of the City of Cologne. The concept of developing learning and living spaces in the sense of pedagogical architecture is the basis for a planning framework for future pedagogical school construction projects launched by the City of Cologne.
With the basic idea of order and freedom, the new library of the University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration in Cologne-Deutz manages to offer a high degree of adaptability and a large variety of levels of transparency on its 700 m². With its bright, open and inviting character, it is an attractive flagship of the university with around 2500 students.
Its structured shell-limestone facade shows the pedestal as the tectonic base of the building, followed by a central part reaching over two floors, and an attic band that repeats the frame of the floors below in a halved rhythm. This vertical order plays a significant role in how the building relates to its historical and urban context.
Sevillian entrepreneur Pepa Bascón decided to move to the German city Cologne twenty years ago in search of new adventures. After several experiences in hospitality, more than 10 years ago she decided to set up a small store of Spanish products in the center of Cologne, bringing the best of her native country to Germany.
With the conversion of the former railway head office, Cologne‘s cityscape has received a new landmark. The new roof design has led to the recreation of the historic mansard roof as well as the generation of terraces with views of the Rhine River that are set between the metal bands surrounding the roof storeys and the set-back office facades.
The one-storey building with a circular roof structure housing building services takes up the corporality of the technical buildings and lives up to both its function and its symbolic effect as a prominent technical building, _ Johannes Kister
A pair of free-form volumes respond to the landscape qualities of the site – a former floodplain of the Rhine – as well as to the memory of villas in park-like settings that once occupied this now increasingly densified area.
Situated in Cologne, Germany, a city that was almost completely destroyed in World War II, the museum houses the Roman Catholic Archdiocese’s collection of art which spans more than a thousand years. Zumthor’s design delicately rises from the ruins of a late-Gothic church, respecting the site’s history and preserving its essence.
Note: The quoted texts are excerpts from the archived descriptions of each project, previously sent by the architects. Find more reference projects in this My ArchDaily folder created by the authors.