The Schildepark is on the site of the former Benno Schilde company on the outskirts of the old town of Bad Hersfeld – an inner city park landscape with four large, historically valuable brick buildings from the late 19th century. The 55,000 m² site which characterises the townscape originally belonged to the Benno Schilde AG for mechanical engineering which since 1885 developed and produced amongst other things machinery for the textile industry and later, ventilation and drying technology. The company traded under the name Babcock-BSH GmbH in 1995 and was later taken over by Grenzebach-BSH GmbH in 2002. The site was bought by the health and festival town of Bad Hersfeld in October 2006. The relocation of Grenzebach-BSH to new premises in Bad Hersfeld was connected with the purchase of the site. Another step to supporting a successful local economy.

The way in which this former industrial brownfield site, in the heart of the city, has been reused, is a first for the county of Hessen. Right on the doorstep of the city centre, there is now a park, with a completely new urban quality, with which Bad Hersfeld, in addition to the festivals it holds in the ruins of the former Monastery, is a unique feature of national importance. The client, WIRTSCHAFTSBETRIEBE BAD HERSFELD GmbH organised planning workshops to consult the people of Bad Hersfeld about reactivating the site. Interested members of the public had taken part in discussions and worked together on the pioneering development so that the project was not just legitimised politically but also supported by the public.

A central project of the Schildepark, in addition to the many parks along the banks of the once covered over river Geis and a square with water games as a new central area between the listed buildings, is the transformation of the former research and development hall into an extraordinary venue which will be used for concerts, theatre and the Bad Hersfeld festivals.

Another vital part of the overall project is the conversion of the so-called “Stockwerksfabrik”. In the south wing there is a learning and adventure world, in the north wing, an education centre with corporate training centre. In the new culture and education centre, communication and language are connected in a playfully entertaining and educational way, in the unique hands-on exhibition titled “wortreich” (rich in words). In addition, another building of historic importance is being developed as a university centre.

The total redevelopment of the site is currently the biggest building site in Bad Hersfeld. The first areas like the central square (Wette und Küneke), learning and adventure world “wortreich” in the Stockwerksfabrik (Kleineberg and Partner – Building, Petri and Tiemann / molitor – Exhibition) and a car park (Hersfeld architect Frank Dorbritz) were already open in 2011, well ahead of estimated completion dates. The completion of the overall site works is expected in 2012.

Architect Uwe Kleineberg explains the potential of the Schildepark: “The listed industrial sites give this area its unique identity. Its close proximity to the city centre gives the project enormous appeal way beyond the city limits.”

The architectural and landscape design of the master plan by architects Kleineberg and Partner from Braunschweig and landscape architects Wette and Küneke from Göttingen with its combination of urban regeneration, renaturation, preservation of industrial monuments and the development of sustainable future uses is an exemplary model for regeneration. An inner city recreation and amusement park is created.

The plan included the controlled demolition of 34 less important buildings on the site and to turn these spaces into parks. The river Geis which flows through the site and was previously completely covered over was carefully exposed and renaturalised (Planning office Wagu, Kassel).

The former research and development hall is a listed industrial building: A brick building with strong architectural expression. The 12 m high central nave of the hall, built with filigree iron supports and the side aisles with brick pillars framing high windows is an impressive example of Hersfeld's industrial architecture. The red brick foundation walls erected in 1912 were in good condition, but the windows, roofs and the interior of the production site were however in need of a radical modernisation concept if the new site was to be used as a venue. Key issues of the planning were the reconstruction of the brick façade and the energy saving refurbishment of the building. This
included the structural strengthening of the roof construction, insulation and sealing – but especially the renewal of windows and external doors.

The old wooden windows, which were beyond repair, were replaced with windows from Schüco’s ADS 90 PL.SI series which have specially thin, conservation approved profiles which retain the industrial character of the former factory building. In the same way the roof lights were replaced with Schüco’s add-on construction, AOS 60 and roof claps, AWS 57 RO with thermally insulated and noise protected glazing.

The focus for the architects planning the conversion of the Stockwerk factory, was the exposure of the building’s architectural qualities in the context of an energy saving refurbishment. The roof of the building from 1904 was sealed and insulated. Internal insulating plaster was added to the exterior walls, the technical building plant including heating, electrics, lighting conductors and bathrooms was completely renewed. The damaged and largely missing windows were replaced with thermally insulated aluminum windows from the series AWS 75.SI with custom profiles and the add on construction Schüco FW 50+.SI was used for the façade glazing.

The redevelopment of the site is planned to be finished in 2014 and will give the city of Bad Hersfeld a new urban quality: An inner city park with pioneering cultural and educational attractions, enhanced by the historically relevant and carefully restored late 19th century industrial buildings.