Dortmunder U – Zentrum für Kunst und Kreativität

Description

On the western edge of Dortmund’s city centre stands the Dortmunder U, a striking industrial high-rise that was built in 1926/27 as fermentation and storage cellars for the Dortmunder Union Brauerei. Its name refers to the nine-meter-high, gilded and illuminated company sign on the main tower, which was installed in 1968 and fully restored in 2008.

The building is situated on the Leonie-Reygers-Terrasse between Rheinische Straße and the track area of Dortmund Hauptbahnhof and is part of an art and culture mile along the Königswall that stretches to the Deutsches Fußballmuseum and Konzerthaus Dortmund.

The seven-storey, 70-metre-high structure was constructed as a reinforced concrete building on pillars and for a long time served the brewery production, where the beer was fermented in open, tiled basins. As early as 1929 the plant reached an output of over one million hectolitres; later, after the relocation of the brewery operations, only the tower remained. The city acquired the site in 2007 and decided in 2008 to repurpose the vacant building as a centre for art and creativity within the framework of RUHR.2010.

During the redesign an open art vertical was created inside: surfaces were opened up, new bays and light spaces were introduced, and an observation terrace, catering facilities and exhibition spaces were integrated. The renovation was carried out in stages; the building was partially opened in May 2010, the Museum Ostwall continued its exhibition in October 2010, and the top level with the 15-metre-high “Kathedrale” became accessible in December 2010.

Today the Dortmunder U houses institutions such as the Museum Ostwall and the Hartware Medienkunstverein and functions as a catalyst for a developing city quarter. Since May 2010 the video installation “Fliegende Bilder” has been shown at several stations, including the widely visible Bilderuhr on the rooftop crown: large-scale LED images change according to day and hour, respond on match days or special occasions with special motifs and are monitored by staff on site; the city covers the electricity costs.