Pfaff area

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Pfaff area
Overview of the Pfaff area

Overview of the Pfaff area

Data
place Kaiserslautern
architect Fritz Seeberger
Architectural style Four-wing system in reinforced concrete frame construction with clinker brick facades and representative staircase
Construction year 1862; Administration building: 1955–1958
Coordinates 49 ° 26 '6.3 "  N , 7 ° 45' 9.7"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 26 '6.3 "  N , 7 ° 45' 9.7"  E
Pfaff area (Rhineland-Palatinate)
Pfaff area
Portal at the main entrance of the former Pfaffwerk

The Pfaff site - sometimes also called Pfaffwerk - is a former industrial area of ​​the sewing machine manufacturer Pfaff in Kaiserslautern that has been fallow since 2009 at the latest .

Since its closure, the site has been the largest contiguous development area in the city of Kaiserslautern. As a dominant urban development element, it has repeatedly been part of urban development debates about converting the area. The renovation of the site began in 2016 after the ideas for the conversion had first been concretized.

The portal at the main entrance of the facility, together with the administration building directly next door, forms an ensemble that characterizes the street. Both buildings have been a listed building since 2016.

history

The foundation stone for the Pfaffwerk was laid in 1862 when the instrument maker Georg Michael Pfaff started the production of sewing machines. The company continued to grow under the leadership of his son Georg Pfaff . As a result of the First World War , armaments-related products were also added from 1914. In the years that followed, the site was continuously expanded and expanded, so that buildings from a 150-year history can still be found there today.

When Georg Pfaff died in 1917, his sister Lina Pfaff took over management of the company. Under her leadership, the Pfaffbad and the company health insurance fund were established in 1924 . After her death in 1929 the management of the company went to Karl Pfaff , to whom the Karl-Pfaff-Siedlung goes back. He died as the last Pfaff family member on the board in 1952.

In the Second World War, around 60 percent of the factory premises were destroyed during the bomb attacks on Kaiserslautern in 1944/45. Nevertheless, production could be resumed soon after the war. During this time, the distinctive, street-defining portal at the main entrance, which still exists today, was built. Between 1956 and 1957 the large administration building by architect Fritz Seeberger and the large dining room were built.

After the takeover of the ELTE plant in Landstuhl , Gritzner-Kayser AG in Karlsruhe and the IPO in 1960, only industrial sewing machines were manufactured in the main plant in Kaiserslautern. In 1980 the annual turnover rose to billions and the company became a global corporation. After that, however, sales decreased again, so that losses were incurred for the first time in the early 1990s and the Pfaff heirs had to sell their majority of the shares. As a result, there were downsizing.

Subsequent to the losses, several bankruptcy applications were filed, first in 1999. Thereafter, the company was sold several times. From this point in time at the latest, the site was no longer fully used. When the new investor and the successor company "Pfaff Industrie-Sewing Machines AG" moved to the north industrial area near Siegelbach after a renewed application for bankruptcy in 2008 , production in the main plant finally ended in 2009. The successor company also went bankrupt in 2013 and, like the competitor Dürkopp Adler from Bielefeld, is now part of the Chinese SGSB Group Co. Ltd.

Fire damage to the new administration building and exhibition pavilion

In a fire on February 14, 2013, the exhibition pavilion, in which the latest models were once presented, burned out completely. Since then, parts of the building at the main entrance have been very dilapidated. Effects on the office building above could be prevented by deploying the fire brigade, although the fact that the hydrants were no longer connected to the municipal supply network initially caused problems. Furthermore, there was considerable time pressure because the building threatened to collapse. This could be prevented by flooding with foam. Nothing is known about the cause of the fire. After the fire, several toxins were found in the area of ​​the accident site that were not previously expected there, including dioxin .

The site is now largely in municipal hands.

After extensive public participation, which began in January of the same year, the renovation began at the end of 2016.

Conversion

Administration building after the exhibition pavilion was demolished
Pfaff area after the first demolition measures

In 2014, the idea of ​​integrating the Pfaff site into the campus of the Technical University (TU) Kaiserslautern - as a continuation of the area on the site of the former freight station - was first published publicly. Above all, it was argued that the striking entrance portal and the administration building should be retained despite the fire damage in 2012. It was also shown that attempts should be made to make the buildings weatherproof in order to minimize further damage. After large parts of the area were sold by the insolvency administrator to the city for a symbolic purchase price of one euro at the end of 2014, the Kaiserslautern Association for Building Culture demanded the development of a clear, overall urban planning concept for the redevelopment of the Pfaff site in order to start the conversion of the area as quickly as possible to be able to. Above all, the association advocated early public and stakeholder participation. The reallocation must also take into account the company's importance in the history of the city. The Association for Building Culture also criticizes the initial attempt by the municipal Pfaff-Areal-Entwicklungs-Gesellschaft (PEG) to build a completely new building for a corporate headquarters of Stadtwerke Kaiserslautern (SWK) on the site. However, the SWK refrained from this option on November 19, 2016; the new building is now to be built in Karcherstrasse. In 2014 there was also a Europe-wide ideas competition for the Pfaff site, but only some of the ideas were adopted.

Allegedly because of the bad experience at the Nürburgring , the state government refused very early on to leave the renovation to the city of Kaiserslautern in cooperation with a private investor, so that the city was forced to have the renovation carried out solely by the public sector. Then various development ideas came up, which suddenly became more concrete over the next two years.

Since December 2015, the city has shared patronage over the Pfaff site with the Pfaff Campus Project Company (PCP). Since then, joint development concepts have been worked out. The aim is to develop an overall concept in order to establish a mixed area of ​​university facilities and institutes, in particular from the IT sector, and residential use. In January 2016, a public information event followed by a workshop took place for the first time , at which citizens could participate directly in the planning process. The PEG accused the concerned citizens of “lack of objectivity”. As part of the public events, however, it was found that many identify with the Pfaffwerk and that it is important to preserve this "treasure". Future investors must therefore preserve as much of the building fabric as possible. That is why it is also considered important to quickly and legally determine the monument value of the site. Due to the high level of commitment from citizens' initiatives, the positive experience of citizen participation and the reactions to a petition to maintain the site, a community-based development of the Pfaffwerk has been closer than ever since mid-2016, although the city administration was initially accused of lack of transparency because dates are still being postponed or no clear discussions about the determination of the monument protection of the Pfaffwerk have been established.

On April 18, 2016, the long-delayed Pfaff.Werk.Stadt finally found. instead, during which various conservation concepts were developed. Thomas Fischer, employee of the TU, campaigned for the maintenance of the central, terrain-defining axis between the main entrance and the main building; Furthermore, a call was made for a connection between the old and the new building structure and, above all, for the entrance portal and the main building to be preserved. These two buildings should therefore also be placed under monument protection. In particular, technology should be used between these two buildings and be based on the axis emphasized by Fischer. Subsequently, a citizens' dialogue is to take place in which many aspects can be reconsidered.

In July 2016, as a result of public participation, the first plans for the development of the area were published. As a result, the renovation of the site began. Nevertheless, doubts were raised as to whether this good way of redesigning the Pfaffwerk in terms of spatial planning and in a citizen-friendly manner will also be implemented consistently in the future.

In September 2016, however, the second Pfaff.Werk.Stadt took place, where the plans and concepts published in July could be concretized by interested citizens. This took place in the former dining room of the Pfaffwerk. Therefore, since the end of September 2016, the PEG has been advertising the new development of the Pfaff site with a sign. The next step is now a framework plan derived from the second public participation, in which the public and many other actors are to be integrated again.

At the beginning of October a public event was called at which the PEG concretised the demolition plans on the Pfaff site. Due to the increasing need for renovation, demolition is now inevitable for some buildings. The historic, fire-damaged exhibition hall next to the new administration building is one of the buildings that urgently needs to be demolished; The monument protection authority also agrees to this measure. The demolition work began in November 2016, but at the same time there were large protests against premature demolition measures. The old administration building is also to be bought up because of the use of environmentally harmful building materials.

The first urban planning concept was also completed in October. The new conversion site will have four access roads and a green area. The various structures are then grouped around these four entrances, with the listed part of the site in the middle. The architecture office astoc / mess is to develop the master plan for this concept.

Trivia

In May / June 2018, the Künstlerwerkgemeinschaft Kaiserslautern eV is organizing a highly acclaimed art campaign with 27 participating artists in the old administration building ("PAFF14") on three Sundays. For many, this is one of the last opportunities to enter parts of the site and the building in its original state.

Pfaffwerk stop

Pfaffwerk stop

The Pfaffwerk has its own stop on the Lautertalbahn , established in 1951 . It is located directly behind the junction from the Mannheim – Saarbrücken railway line , but is easily visible from there. While the stop was mainly used for rush hour traffic for employees in the Pfaffwerk until 2007 , it now opens up the residential area on Königstrasse. Since then, it has not been used regularly due to falling demand.

Web links

Commons : Pfaffgelände  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Pfaffgelände 2 from April 2016 - Association for Building Culture and Urban Design Kaiserslautern e. V. In: baukultur-kaiserslautern.de. April 10, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f The time after Pfaff. (No longer available online.) In: german-architects.com. January 22, 2016, archived from the original on November 20, 2016 ; Retrieved November 19, 2016 .
  3. ↑ a b c Kaiserslautern: Two architectural monuments on Pfaff site. In: rheinpfalz.de. November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016 .
  4. ↑ List of monuments Kaiserslautern , status 2016 (PDF file)
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Pfaffwerke in Kaiserslautern - Rhein-Neckar industrial culture. In: rhein-neckar-industriekultur.de. Retrieved November 18, 2016 .
  6. ↑ a b November 17, 2014: Exciting historical material from the southwest - communication - company. In: swr.de. November 30, 2014, accessed November 18, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Fire Brigade Kaiserslautern: News view - Fire Brigade Kaiserslautern. In: feuerwehr-kaiserslautern.de. February 14, 2013, accessed November 18, 2016 .
  8. ↑ a b Pfaff site 1 to April 2016 - Association for Building Culture and Urban Design Kaiserslautern e. V. In: baukultur-kaiserslautern.de. December 6, 2014, accessed November 19, 2016 .
  9. ↑ Kaiserslautern: Stadtwerke do not build on the former Pfaff site. In: rheinpfalz.de. November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016 .
  10. ↑ a b c d Discussion about industrial wasteland in Kaiserslautern: What will happen to the Pfaff site? - Home - State Show Rhineland-Palatinate. In: swr.de. December 19, 2015, accessed November 19, 2016 .
  11. ↑ News: keep Pfaff - shape the city! - online petition. In: openpetition.de. August 31, 2016, accessed November 18, 2016 .
  12. ↑ Municipalities: Architects' office should develop ideas for Pfaff premises. In: Focus Online . September 5, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016 .
  13. ↑ Architecture office should develop ideas for Pfaff premises. In: t-online.de. October 11, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016 .
  14. ^ Paff-the-magic - a project of the Künstlerwerkgemeinschaft Kaiserslautern eV In: paff-the-magic.de. Retrieved June 5, 2018 .
  15. ^ Fritz Engbarth: 125 years of railways in Lautertal - Festschrift for the anniversary weekend from September 20 to 21, 2008. 2008, p. 6.