Nordstern tower - Conversion and extension of Nordstern colliery’s Shaft II in Gelsenkirchen
THS headquarters Project Nordstern tower - Extension of Nordstern Shaft 2, Gelsenkirchen, sculpture by Markus Lüpertz, Architect: Karl-Heinz Petzinka with Nathalie Ness and René Clasen / Photo: Manfred Vollmer; Rendering: Petzinka / Ness / Clasen
Video art will be shown inside the shaft tower of the Nordstern mine in Gelsenkirchen starting in autumn of 2010. The building will be topped by a new glass structure crowned by an 18-metre Hercules sculpture by Markus Lüpertz that will transform the tower into a work of art.
The Nordstern mine's shaft tower - formerly used as pit II to mine black coal - will be fortified in several stages and put to new uses. This process, carried out by THS GmbH, is a regional concept intended to boost the Nordstern site for Gelsenkirchen.
The tower's various levels will be used both publically as a museum and by private enterprise. The project is one of the Ruhr Metropolis' seven "High Points". Levels 5 to 11 will be used for video art, a relatively new art form, starting in autumn of 2010. Levels 9 to 11 will showcase the former mine's huge pulley and unique hoist while the tower’s other levels for the most part remain.
Separated from the original tower, four new glass levels will raise the Nordstern tower to a height of 100 metres that can be accessed through an exterior tower. The Nordstern tower will be visible from afar thanks to an 18-metre statue of Hercules that transforms the tower into a work of art.
An observation deck open to the public will be built on the top 18th floor.
Partners: THS GmbH, city of Gelsenkirchen, Ministry of Economics, Mid-sized Businesses and Energy of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of Construction and Transport of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
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Related topics:
High points