In an intensive collaboration process over the last year Karres en Brands developed an urban masterplan for the Sportpark Soers location in Aachen.

The municipality of Aachen asked Karres en Brands in the beginning of 2023 to develop a vision of how to transform and develop the Sportpark area. The overall goal was to turn the separate club patchwork into a connected area which enables space for sport, recreation and get together for everyone. The urban framework should become more attractive and inviting, create an identity for Aachen and the region, allow public accessibility, increase the amount of green and water retention spaces, and guarantee a high-quality representation and functionality for sport both in clubs and individually.

Our strategy aims to strengthen the existing qualities of the broad mix of different sport clubs, the close vicinity to the city centre and the direct link to the surrounding nature. We started with an integrated approach and multilayered analysis of the current situation. Through combining this with an external analysis of the sportive development of the city and input from our talks about the needs of the resident sport clubs we managed to create a plan to intensify the usage of the Sportpark. In addition, we suggested replacing unused parking space by recreational and green space.

Four main transformation areas were identified and studied further. The municipality’s’ main architectural goal for the upcoming years is the construction of a high-level multifunctional sport hall in combination with a mobility hub and a new world-class horse-riding hall. Furthermore, a centrally located gravel area should be redesigned as a new entrance plaza to host temporary events and represent all sport clubs to the public. Through reorganisation of space, a third section of the Sportpark should become the new lively centre for public and individual sport amenities in combination with professional football training facilities while still being usable in case of huge international horse-riding events. All sections of the Sportpark will be connected by publicly accessible footpaths. A special running track loop will offer training possibilities for beginners to professional with integrated time tracking, lighting, and recovering facilities.

The masterplan is not a fixed design but shows different development possibilities and is the base for both long ongoing architectural projects and short-term activation of mainly unused areas. 

In collaboration with PGT.