Die Kieler Kante

The city of Kiel is essentially shaped and formed by its relationship to the water. Nature and industry surround the unique Kiel Fjord. From the city centre to the open sea, the fjord accompanies the urban space, nature and industry and only very gradually loses itself in the green shores of the Baltic Sea. 

The Kieler Kante is an urban quarter that is not based on typologies and infrastructures, but on ecology and ecosystems. Inaccessible for a long time due to the industrial and military use of the airfield, water and forest will be reunited in the future and create very specific residential and recreational qualities. The new green-blue infrastructure forms the basis for the emergence of the new urban district and also defines the agenda for the future development of the coast. The Kieler Kante brings Vossbrook back to the waterfront and creates a series of green-blue, ecologically sustainable and climate-friendly links. Existing landmarks along the promenade are activated and integrated into public life.

Building on Kiel’s traditionally strong connection to the water, the new Kieler Kante district is also shaped by water in every respect. From the sea to the forest, water forms the lifeblood of the neighbourhood and enables distinctive qualities of life on the Kiel Fjord. The water so characteristic of Kiel becomes the foundation for the Kieler Kante. A differentiated system of blue arteries brings fresh and salt water together and creates new public spaces, unique living conditions and sustainable forms of production. Building new coastal settlements in the context of climate change offers the opportunity to set the agenda for long-term sustainable development. Kieler Kante thus takes up the greatest challenge of our time and develops the unique quality of the project from this theme. By working with tidal dynamics, retention and buffer zones, ecological resilience is embedded in the concept from the outset, offering exciting possibilities for life in the city. One of the most important qualities of the site and thus also an elementary factor for the future identity of the new district lies in the former military and industrial use with its historic buildings, runways and other diverse relics from the past. The Kieler Kante preserves these existing structures, which are integrated into the urban development concept as contemporary witnesses and upgraded by new uses. In our understanding, the Kieler Kante is not a district that is being rebuilt from scratch, but the continuation of a careful reading of the site and its existing features.