Duesseldorf-states--Opera-of-the-future-at-the-location-of-its-heart-Heinrich-Heine-Allee-16-May-23

Düsseldorf states: Opera of the future at the location of its heart, Heinrich-Heine-Allee, 16. May

Düsseldorf, 16 May 2023

Düsseldorf: The opera of the future should be at Lord Mayor's location of the heart, Heinrich-Heine-Allee. From 2027, there will also be an interim opera venue, announced Miriam Koch, Commissioner for Culture and Integration.

So the city's administration has now made its decision. The final decision on the location however must be made by the Düsseldorf city council on 15 June. Anyone who criticises has not understood the long-term financial planning, says the Lord Mayor. The new opera house would benefit a large number of future generations and not one kindergarten or school would be built less because of it.

Lord Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller (centre) recommends Heinrich-Heine-Allee as the location for the opera house of the future. Commissioner Miriam Koch, Dr Heinrich Labbert, Managing Director of IPM © State Capital Düsseldorf/Ingo Lammert

Düsseldorf, 16 May 2023: It is a project of the century: the new Düsseldorf Opera House. In spring, at the presentation of the location competition, Lord Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller announced that his "location of the heart" was the Heinrich-Heine-Allee. For Düsseldorf as a cultural metropolis, a modern opera house would be obligatory. This would include a new building and he made a reference to the "neighbours to the south", referring to the conditions of the planing of the Cologne opera house. The final decision on the location however will be made by the Düsseldorf City Council, on 15 June.

Long-term financial planning

In his speech, the Lord Mayor immediately referred to the costs. Anyone who criticises would not understand the long-term financial planning. The new opera house would benefit a large number of future generations and not one kindergarten or school would be built less because of it, he said.

He went on to say today in City Hall: "I myself was convinced from the very beginning of the historic location on Heinrich-Heine-Allee and will propose it to the Council accordingly. Taking all criteria into account, the future architectural project can be optimally realised there at a central and very popular location in Düsseldorf. The opera house of the future will generate interest and attention beyond the borders of the state capital. The evaluations of the extensive public participation in the decision-making process also make it clear that the people of Düsseldorf are also in favour of this location as a future home for art, culture and shared experiences."

The location was recommended on the basis of the results of the urban planning ideas competition. The jury of the competition for the Opera House of the Future had awarded prizes to seven urban planning works. For the two possible locations - Heinrich-Heine-Allee and Am Wehrhahn - four and three designs respectively were awarded prizes.

Lord Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller: "We have often been courageous in our urban development decisions in Düsseldorf. With the Rhine bank tunnel we brought the city closer to the river, we moved the Carschhaus and built an underground, demolished the Tausendfüßler and gave the developed space back to the citizens. This series is now being followed by the construction of a new opera house. A modern concert hall must be a matter of course for a metropolis of art and music like Düsseldorf, whose radiance of its academy and university reaches far beyond the state borders."

The location of the heart

The Heinrich-Heine-Allee location does indeed have the potential to be an ideal link to other cultural sites and it is an exposed end point to the Königsallee, the Hofgarten, the Kö-Bogen, the Grabbeplatz as well as the Altstadt.

What will happen next? The interim venue

Since the first curtain of the new opera will not fall until 2033, Commissioner Miriam Koch announced that there will be an interim venue. The current opera house is expected to be demolished in 2027. The interim venue would either be in an existing building, a new building on land owned by the city, or a building from system components that would then be resold. There would be a market for the resale of interim venues. Unfortunately, however, she could not name the places in question at the moment. The municipality would commission a feasibility study on the interim venue to ensure the continuation of opera operations. An architectural and engineering competition would then be launched.

But until 2033?

In response to questions, Lord Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller said that he had been convinced by planners that planning could not be done faster. Most mistakes are made in the planning stage. But Düsseldorf had also shown with the Kö Bogen and Wehrhahn projects that deadlines could be met.

Dr Heinrich Labbert, Managing Director of IPM, explained that the Düsseldorf Opera House would be the first opera house in Europe to be built at such a speed. There was only a small team of experts who could plan operas; they had to be found now.

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We will report further.

Location: HHA Ingenhoven associates, Düsseldorf (architecture) with West 8, Rotterdam (urban planning | landscape architecture) © HHA ingenhoven associates, Düsseldorf with West 8, Rotterdam

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