Rurbad in Düren

GREAT QUALITY OF STAY FOR ALL USER NEEDS

RURBAD IN DÜREN

Located near the river Rur, the Holzbendenpark is known as „Düren‘s hidden paradise“ and serves as an oasis of recreation for the town’s residents and visitors. As part of the town centre master plan, the municipality of Düren is redesigning this green space, inclusive of a new entrance to the park. KRIEGER Architekten | Ingenieure has designed the new Rurbad as a striking gateway at the newly created southern park entrance, offering something for everyone: maximum flexibility for schools and clubs, a wide range of swimming and course offerings for young and old, a sauna and wellness area as a refuge for those seeking peace and quiet, and a restaurant serving all indoor and outdoor areas.

Location Düren, Germany Client / operator Dürener Service Betriebe

General contractor Pellikaan Bauunternehmen www.pellikaan.de General planners and architects KRIEGER Architekten | Ingenieure DE – 42551 Velbert www.architekt-krieger.de

Author Ina Neuhaus KRIEGER Architekten | Ingenieure Photos Christopher Arnoldi, Altrich

Wellness facility devine wellness-anlagenbau AT – 6241 Radfeld www.devine.at

Official opening July 2022

Construction costs (without outside facilities) EUR 20 million

Smooth planning process The planning team consisting of KRIEGER Architekten | Ingenieure as the general planner and Pellikaan Bauunternehmen as the general contractor were happy to accept the challenge of creating contemporary architecture at this special location on the basis of the concept devised by PROVA and the Dürener Service Betrieb utility company.

The interdisciplinary planning revolved around Building Information Modelling. The comprehensive BIM model was used to bring together all planning areas, combine information, organise construction workflows and boost the efficiency of the entire process.

No project managers were appointed – Dürener Service Betrieb as the client had great confidence in the team of planners and contractors and was not disappointed. Thanks to their highly efficient cooperation, the indoor swimming pool took only 18 months to build and was opened on budget on 8 July 2022. Since then it has been attracting users from near and far.

Steel plate recalls industrial heritage The large-scale architecture of the new Rurbad pool creates a powerful urban presence, consisting essentially of three rectilinear structures that come together to form a compact building and whose shapes and façade design reveal the inner structures.

The bottom level forms the broad base of the whole, even extending beyond the building‘s footprint in some areas: facing the track and field athletes‘ training grounds to the west, the base level underpins a floating, grassed entrance forecourt with a view of the playing fields and Holzbendenpark, while also creating a separate entrance for the adjacent outdoor sports facilities.

Cross-section

Placed above this and facing west is a striking, two-storey block clad in pre-corroded steel plate that pays tribute to the industrial heritage of the town of Düren. It forms the solid backbone for the large swimming hall facing east, which is a light-flooded structure accommodating the 50-metre competition pool. The roof surfaces are covered with panels of a photovoltaic system.

Views of idyllic greenery A gently rising, green access level leads along the west façade of the building to the roof of the basement and thus to the main entrance on the ground floor. The elongated path to the lobby leads past the floor-to-ceiling glass façades of the smaller swimming hall and allows the first glimpses of the instruction pool and parent-child area. As it continues, the ground descends to the level of the park and thus offers arriving visitors access from both sides.

On the left side of the lobby is the restaurant area for external visitors to Holzbendenpark and the pool. From the restaurant‘s spacious rooms there are views of the surrounding idyllic greenery.

To the right of the lobby is the indoor swimming pool foyer with the cash desk and extensive glazing that provides a view into the lower swimming hall of the competition pool. The lift available here ensures that all areas of the building enjoy stepfree accessibility.

Via the turnstile system, visitors arrive at the staircase, which is centrally located in the floor plan, serves as the wayfinding hub and provides access to all floors. Also on the same level as the foyer and beyond the staircase are the instruction pool and the parent-child area for the youngest guests.

On the basement level there are abundant changing rooms and lockers as well as five communal changing rooms, which are used among other things by schools and clubs. For these groups, there is also a separate entrance at car park level. The barrier-free changing and shower area is located right next to the lift.

Interlinked with outdoor sports facilities The functional areas of the outdoor sports facilities are also located on this level. Two large glazed exercise and gymnastics rooms with a view of the future blue artificial running track, equipment rooms, changing rooms and toilet/shower facilities are available to users via a separate entrance. The dovetailing of the training areas lends expression to the design idea of closely interlinking outdoor and indoor activities to form an overall complex.

1 Foyer with cash desk 2 Foyer area for park visitors 3 Bistro for indoor swimming pool 4 Central staircase 5 Spectator stand 6 Pool attendant with first-aid room 7 Teaching pool 8 Parent-child area 9 Textile steam bath 10 Warm water pool 11 Diving platform 12 Multifunctional 50-m competition pool 13 Lifting wall, two-part 14 Equipment rooms 14

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Ground floor plan

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From the adjacent pre-swim showers of the indoor pool, visitors arrive at a staircase that provides direct access up to the 50-metre competition pool. The pool hall is 1.25 m lower than the foyer and the neighbouring functional areas of the instruction and children‘s pools. This difference is bridged by a multi-level grandstand with integrated steps.

In the zone between the two swimming halls are the restaurant area for the swimming hall, equipment and service rooms, and pool supervision. As a special highlight, a steam bath and a relaxing warm water pool with a view of the competition pool have been provided for users in this intermediate area.

Venue for supra-regional competitions The design objective was to organize the water surfaces, wellness area and restaurant facilities on the site so as to optimize the space available and, at the same time, to achieve the maximum possible flexibility. The outcome is a 50-m sports pool with eight lanes (50 m x 21 m, water surface: 1,104 m²), which is certified by the German Swimming Association (DSV) for supra-regional swimming meetings and water polo matches. At such meetings, spectators in the stands can follow the times and results on the large, digital scoreboard. Parallel use by schools, clubs and individual users The adaptable competition pool is equipped with a twopart lifting wall and lifting floor and can be divided into two or three pool sections to provide space for all kinds of functions and visitor groups. For users with limited mobility, the disabled persons’ lift can be attached to each section via a plug socket in the pool surround. If the lifting wall is raised completely, an area 23.50 m long is created on one side, which can be further divided by a lifting floor with a trailing apron. On the other side, there is a pool with eight 25-metre lanes suitable for competitions and supplemented by a diving area consisting of a 1-metre board and a 3-metre platform.

In this pool, for example, clubs can train on the 50-m lane, schools can hold their swimming lessons in the area with a lifting floor and public bathers can swim their laps, all at the same time. All pool layouts have one thing in common: the wonderful view out of the water into the greenery and trees of Holzbendenpark. The instruction pool is located on the same level as the foyer and is accessed via two short flights of steps from the competition pool. It is separated from the competition area of the 50-m pool both climatically and acoustically. It has a water surface of 167 m² (10 m x 16.66 m) and a

broad water familiarisation staircase. Adjacent and separated by an internal glass partition is the parent-child area, where younger users will find a spray park with water attractions and a paddling pool with a water surface of 16 m². Rurbad sauna on the upper floor The upper floor is reserved for the sauna area. To the north of the main staircase are the changing rooms with pre-sauna showers, the sauna bistro with spacious indoor and outdoor areas, and a fireside lounge and a relaxation room with a view of the old trees of Holzbendenpark. To the south of the entrance are the sauna facilities of the indoor area and the roof terrace with outdoor sauna and relaxation room.

The centrepiece of this oasis of calm is the lounge with its exposed concrete benches and foot baths, around which the indoor saunas and treatment facilities are grouped: a classic Finnish sauna (85 to 90° Celsius), a salt sauna with mild temperatures of 60 to 65° Celsius, a steam bath, and the cooling-off area with a plunge pool. The ice room located here against the outside wall with an ice fountain and video wall is flooded with light during the day and LED-lit in the evening. From this interior area, there is access to one of the two roof terraces featuring an outdoor pool and outdoor showers. Here, the west façade contains a large-area opening like a portal, which is equipped with a glass railing and creates exciting, reciprocal sight lines between sauna users and park visitors, directing the view to the sports facilities and parkland and far into the surrounding Vordereifel region.

In addition to a relaxation room, there is an attractive event sauna (85 to 90° Celsius) in the outdoor area, inviting visitors to relax to the sound of music and lighting effects. All-round glazed fireplace The sauna‘s catering area is located in the north of the sauna complex and is separated from the sauna facilities by the showers, changing rooms and staircase. It is served via a dumbwaiter from the central kitchen on the ground floor. A cosy indoor area and the spacious roof terrace invite the user to linger, relax or just sunbathe.

Right next to the sauna bistro, the fireside lounge beckons with comfort and cosiness. The fireplace is integrated into the glass partition to the bistro and glazed all around, ensuring cosy warmth and a homely ambience from all sides.

Whatever the user – wellness aficionado, top athlete or young fledgling swimmer – they all find what they are looking for here: great quality of stay and perfect conditions for their needs. The new Rurbad effortlessly balances functions and user needs and thus gives Holzbendenpark a distinctive new face.