Rheine. The former Damloup barracks becomes the Europa quarter at the Waldhügel.After the acquisition and takeover of the former barracks site by the city of Rheine in August 2022, the demolition and deconstruction work began promptly after about 10 weeks.
The barracks, originally built in 1934, was heavily bombed during World War II, especially in 1945. After the end of the war, in the years 1948 to 1975, the significantly damaged above-ground buildings were successively dismantled and new buildings were erected elsewhere. “And this is exactly where the special challenge for the deconstruction of the site lies,” says Mark Dieckmann. He is the conversion manager for the city of Rheine and is thus responsible for converting the site, which was formerly used for military purposes, into civilian uses. “We have to lift, analyze and prepare the underground building fabric because we want to reuse as much of it as possible for the planned new construction of the access roads and paths,” Dieckmann continues.
In addition to the underground buildings, there are also current barracks buildings to be demolished, 71 bomb craters filled with construction debris, old roads, utility lines, drill sites and several 10,000 cubic meters of underground construction debris to be removed. Work on the 100,000-square-foot property is expected to take just over a year. Since the deconstruction will be carried out in three sections, new development for the first construction phase can begin as early as next year.
I am delighted that an innovative residential quarter for around 1,600 people is being created in the newly named Europa-Viertel on Waldhügel. This project will help relieve the tight housing market,” said Mayor Dr. Peter Lüttmann.
Milena Schauer, head of the department for planning and construction, was also delighted: “The new residential area is planned in such a way that it will be built in a high-quality urban environment. For example, an approximately 18,000-square-meter park is planned in an almost car-free neighborhood.”
The project was unveiled at EXPO Real in Munich, a real estate trade show and conference, in October. The positive response from other cities as well as investors shows that the city of Rheine is on the right track with its imaginative and forward-looking concept in view of the growing problems caused by the immense consumption of land as well as the problems associated with heavy rainfall events and the mobility revolution.