Vision Plange Mühle Campus
With the Plange Mühle Campus, a lively, future-forward waterfront district is being created at Düsseldorf’s harbour. It is home to medical services, companies from the fashion, media, architecture, and consulting sectors. It offers versatile spaces for gastronomy and events, and includes spacious leisure areas for the general public, such as a park and harbour promenade.
The architecture reflects the transformation from an industrial to a commercial site – preserving traces of its history while integrating the Plange Mühle Campus into the Media Harbour via the Mühlenbrücke, the and Pierbrücke and the pier. Pier One, which will be built on the water by 2029 along with its four bridges, creates a new infrastructure in the port. Plange Mühle and Pier One – a quarter of short distances.
© ingenhoven associates / HGEsch
The heart of the Plange Mühle Campus is its striking industrial architecture dating back to 1906: the brick buildings of the former Georg Plange wheat mill, which continuously expanded in the following decades. Since 2001, the entire area has been renovated and redeveloped in stages, in close cooperation with the preservation authorities.
The Betonsilo (concrete silo) was the last historic structure of the complex to be renovated, in 2021. It will be joined by two new buildings: the Kontor and the Garage. Together with the new public spaces, including a park and waterfront promenade, a lively campus on the waterfront will come to life.
© Thomas Hessmann
Plange Mühle Campus and Pier One – a quarter of short distances. © ingenhoven associates
Plange Mühle Campus
Campus Overview
1 Bus stop
2 Entrance/driveway
3 Garage
4 Photovoltaic power plant
5 Droneport
6 Promenade
7 Nature protection zone
8 Kontor
9 Speicher (granary)
10 Mühle (mill)
11 Werkstatt (workshop)
12 Garden
13 Obermüllerhaus (miller’s house)
14 Holzsilo (historic silo)
15 Betonsilo (historic silo)
16 Elevator Tower
17 Mühlenbrücke (bridge)
Betonsilo
The Betonsilo (concrete silo) was the last historic structure of the complex to be renovated, in 2021. By 2025 it will be joined by two new buildings: the Kontor and the Garage. Together with the new public spaces, including a park and waterfront promenade, a lively campus on the waterfront will come to life.
Built in 1929, the Betonsilo consists of 10 concrete cylinders nearly 24 metres high and arranged in pairs. Today, its tenants include a medical clinic with reception areas, a floor for the orthopaedic surgery, and a bed floor. Daylight pours into each of the seven floors through two new windows in each of the concrete cylinders. One of the cylinders immediately adjacent to the Holzsilo was preserved in its original form and today encloses the main staircase and elevators.
A layer of insulating plaster, 15 cm thick, was applied instead of a conventional composite thermal insulation system to underscore its authenticity. An additional staggered floor with terraces and a fantastic view connects both silos.
© ingenhoven associates / HGEsch
Future site of Pier One between Plange Mühle and the Hyatt Hotel, with a view of downtown Düsseldorf. © ingenhoven associates / HG Esch
© ingenhoven associates / HGEsch
facts & credits Betonsilo
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Holzsilo
The listed wooden grain silo from 1906 was extensively renovated from 2014 to 2016. Today, the loft-like spaces of the Holzsilo extend over six floors and are home primarily to companies from the fashion and creative industries, as well as spacious catering and event areas.
Brickwork alternates with white plaster surfaces on the facade. Above the brick base, nearly building-high arched windows reveal the location of the former silo cells. Two of the three arches are glazed while the third is plastered, with traces of the former wooden silo cells visible in the interior. The timber chambers were removed during the renovation and floor levels added, as indicated by the round plate anchors.
Further signs of the area’s eventful history can be found in the shrapnel holes left in the facade. The old ship elevator was also preserved, a tower-like brick structure on the south side of the Holzsilo.
© ingenhoven associates / HGEsch
© ingenhoven associates / HGEsch
View of the Plange Mühle Campus with Betonsilo, Holzsilo and Main Building. © ingenhoven associates / HGEsch
facts & credits Holzsilo
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Mühle (Mill) – Main Building
From 2001 to 2003, the Mühle (mill), the Plange Mühle main building, underwent extensive renovation in close coordination with the historic preservation authorities. Serving as a compelling link to the main building is the listed clock tower, with its grey natural stone at the base, brickwork on the five floors rising above it, and a bronze eagle spreading its wings on top. Two silos from the 1970s were demolished and replaced by new buildings, which defer in their restrained design to the historic structure from 1906.
The Mühle extends over seven floors. The industrial charm of the former flour mill can still be felt in its bright, loft-like rooms, which feature up to 4.5 metres-high ceilings and fantastic views.
© ingenhoven associates / HGEsch
facts & credits Main Building
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Kontor & Garage
By 2025 two new buildings will be completed: the Kontor and the Garage.
The Kontor, a new eight-floor building clad in yellow brick and crowned by a setback storey, evokes the industrial history of the site. It stands out with its discreet architecture, high spaces for a variety of uses, generous building depth, a highly efficient building core, and highly flexible floorplans.
Current and future forms of mobility will find a place in the Garage. The split-level parking garage has over 500 parking spaces, along with a mobility hub, bicycle rental and repair, a charging station for electric vehicles, end-of-trip facilities, and a helicopter and drone landing pad. The Garage facades will be entirely greened.
© ingenhoven associates
facts & credits Kontor
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supergreen
The Plange Mühle Campus is certified according to the highest green building standards: LEED Platinum, DGNB Platinum, and WiredScore Gold. It is designed according to cradle-to-cradle principles. This means it meets the highest ESG criteria, which are driving the sustainable transformation of construction via the EU taxonomy.
We are guided by our own supergreen® concept. Our buildings are climate-positive, meaning we consider their entire life cycle during the planning process. Our principle of «replacement» means we give back the biocapacity we take away from the earth through targeted building concepts. At the Plange Mühle Campus, this includes a site-specific response that supports aquatic wildlife and biodiversity. We build in an «extracurricular» way – meaning we bring added value to the area by creating new and inclusive public spaces. We are convinced that resilient buildings can help mitigate the effects of global warming that are already being felt today.
Promote carbon-free mobility
Minimised heating and cooling loads
Extensive use of renewable energies
Intelligent building management system
Cradle-to-cradle design
High-efficiency ventilation systems, hybrid ventilation options
Minimal CO₂ footprint
Maximum use of low-hazard materials
Recycling & waste management
Sustainable water management, rainwater harvesting
New public (green) spaces
Inclusion & maximum accessibility
Early consideration of designing for deconstruction
Promote carbon-free mobility
Minimised heating and cooling loads
Extensive use of renewable energies
Intelligent building management system
Cradle-to-cradle design
High-efficiency ventilation systems, hybrid ventilation options
Minimal CO₂ footprint
Maximum use of low-hazard materials
Recycling & waste management
Sustainable water management, rainwater harvesting
New public (green) spaces
Inclusion & maximum accessibility
Early consideration of designing for deconstruction
Plans Plange Mühle Campus
