Alter/Neuer Hafen

previous state

In 1827, and with a view to building a new port, the city of Bremen purchased from the Kingdom of Hanover a tract of land adjacent to the mouth of the Weser River. Its strategic position on the Baltic Sea coast and the city’s membership of the Hanseatic League meant that this infrastructure would soon become a major economic reference point, mainly based on the fishing industry, boat building and commercial transport. However, the fifty kilometres that separated the port from the city centre meant that a new urban settlement would spring up around the port installations. This was duly given the name of Bremerhaven (Port of Bremen). For almost two centuries, both the young city and its port area underwent exponential growth, to the extent that the first wharves to have been constructed became old and obsolete. The locks of the so-called Alter Neuer Hafen (Old New Port) ended up being closed and filled in while its industrial buildings were demolished.

aim of the intervention

In 1999, the Bremerhaven City Council founded BEAN (Bremerhavener Entwicklungsgesellschaft Alter Neuer Hafen), a municipal organisation working to develop and revitalise the oldest sector of the port. An ambitious urban development plan was drawn up with a view to building a neighbourhood that would substantially influence the structure and physiognomy of the city. Based on the pre-existing maritime and river fronts, the public spaces of the new neighbourhood had to precede and constitute the organising principle of the different residential and commercial buildings that would comprise it. By means of these spaces, the city aimed to reconsider its relationship with the water which, without neglecting its industrial origins, was also to become more open and accessible to the citizens.

description

For the whole length of its two kilometres of coastline, the new development remains true to the urban layout of the demolished industrial buildings. Its main axis is a maritime promenade that runs between extensive grassy fields. The paths are paved with limestone, granite and sandstone slabs. At different points along the way, the paving changes its character to indicate special places. Such is the case of the Lloyd esplanade, in the centre of the intervention, which offers good views of the city while also being the site of a historic lighthouse. Here, the surface is a platform made of strips of wood.

The promenade features different elements that have been designed especially for it, among which are drainage systems, service points for high tension wires and telephones, waste-paper bins and different kinds of benches. Notable for their height are rows of lampposts that rhythmically line the whole length of the intervention. At the top are tenuous blue lights that, at night, orient walkers and indicate the length of the promenade; halfway up are anchoring points for pennants that indicate specific events; and, near the base, they act as the support for more lights that are focused on the ground.

assessment

The nearby Maritime Museum, the conservation of the historic lighthouse and the constant presence of boats keep the port spirit of Alter Neuer Hafen alive. Yet, by means of the addition of attractive and comfortable fittings and attentive treatment of the surfaces for walking, the port has acquired an open and hospitable character which makes it an ideal setting both for intimate strolls and crowd-pulling events.

David Bravo Bordas, architect