Discover the colourful world of Christrosenweg - (*Christmas Rose Road) in Cologne
Axel Schütze (Graduate Engineer AKNW / BDLA / Landscape Architect’s Office Axel Schütze)
No matter if a trip to the moon, a jeep safari, an excursion to the old castle ruin or just walking along beautiful plant areas: here in the outdoor area of the Christmas Rose Road in Cologne everything becomes possible.
In short, the redesigned area of the Christmas Rose Road in Cologne could be described as an attractive new play area, framed by carefully selected planting. Although in fact there is much more to it than that.
In 2014, a real estate agency of Cologne called GAG Immobilien AG had already started planning the redesign of the outdoor facilities of the settlement in the Christmas Rose Road. At that time, the play areas had "become obsolete" and had in any case to be re-structured. Due to the existing requests for the modification of some sections of the planting areas the respective planting measures had also been taken into account. The residential complex of an overall area of approximately 4 hectares is located in the district Köln-Zündorf. In the north and east, the area is limited by the Irisweg Road, in the South by the Rosenhügel Road and in the West by the urban green space and the local railway line. The Cologne-based landscape architect’s office Axel Schütze was the company entrusted with the spatial planning which was completed in Autumn 2017. To ensure that the residents of the district would not be disturbed too much by the building work, the project was implemented in two separate construction phases. The first construction phase started in spring 2018. Most of the work could be completed within the first half of the year. The second construction phase started in January 2019.
The fact that the respective area consisted of several small plots, which could only be accessed by small vehicles, represented a particular planning challenge. Nevertheless, the implementation of the project succeeded by creating attractive new play offerings for the individual areas. Thus, for instance, in the courtyard of the northern residential unit, a thematic playground called "a trip to the moon" had been built. The uniqueness of this play area is that the existing wall with its circular opening should be integrated in the future play device. Thus, the so-called rocket play tower was created in close cooperation with the manufacturing company Kinderland Emsland Spielgeräte. The existing wall with its circular opening could be integrated into the tower in such a manner that the way out of the tower encourages the children to develop their artistic skills. Due to the short distance between the existing foundation of the wall and the surface of the fall protection sand, the safety regulations required to use colour- matched synthetic fall protection materials. Now, these sections are well-integrated into the overall scenario. As a result, it will no longer be questioned why the corners of the wall are shaped in such way. A robot rocker, a combined climbing and balancing section, a swing especially for small children as well as a comfortable sitting area complete the play offerings in this area, despite the very limited space.
On the lawn of the outdoor area of the residential complex, fitness devices manufactured by the company Kuck Fitness were installed to provide the residents of the settlement with attractive sports and fitness facilities. By offering devices such as the so-called "washboard", "push-up light" and "pull-up", the opportunities for exercise are endless. In addition, a six-metre large trampoline of the company Playparc was installed which invites to high-spirited jumps at any time. Additionally, two benches were installed which enable the athletes to have a rest or just put down their sports bags. The benches are a special production of the company Kuck Fitness. Their design fits perfectly with the design of the fitness devices.
Another play area at the Irisweg Road was launched under the motto " old castle ruin". However, it was impossible to expand the sand play area underneath the existing tree stock due to the necessary protection of the root area. In order to raise the attractiveness of the play offerings, small blocks of natural stone were installed in the surrounding area of the sandbox which should invite the children to balancing. Thus, they reach the castle gate in a playful way. By balancing over the timber trunks directly after having passed the castle gate, the children will reach a platform with the slide for small children. In line with the castle concept, the spring riders are designed as horses and donkeys. In addition, a new sand play table with a sand lift and sand slope increase the value of the former sand play area.
When planning the largest unit west of the Christmas Rose Road it was important to integrate the centred huge weeping willow into the new installation while at the same time its root area had to remain untouched. For that reason, the game attractions were installed on two separate sand play areas. In one of the two areas a nest swing was installed. In the second sand play area a combination of devices such as the sand play table, the climbing facility with a slide and spring riders invite the children to much physical activity. The harmonious overall appearance was achieved by using natural stone blocks consisting of greywacke which were integrated into the grassy hill. In addition, bench seats and tables in the niches of the existing hedges invite young and old to have a rest.
The last building section of the first building phase was a small indoor courtyard in the south-eastern part of the settlement. To maintain the existing hedge structures, the new play area should not exceed the former area of approximately 150 sqm. In order to allow young and old an optimum use of this space, the aim was to offer interesting playing devices. Thus, a swing mat as well as a huge sand box were arranged diagonally on this area. This space design was necessary to comply with the safety regulations as well as the safety area requirements for play devices. To guarantee easy access to the benches from each of the four entries despite the diagonal arrangement, sand appeared to be the most suitable fall protection material.
Another essential planning aspect was to achieve an overall improvement of the planting areas. Thus, the existing planting had to be renewed or complemented. Hawthorn hedges are characteristic plant species within this residential area, although still incomplete. At the beginning of the works, many of these gaps had been filled by the residents with all types of fences and gates. In the course of the re-planting the hawthorn hedges have been supplemented by further hedges in order to create a uniform overall appearance.
Another important aspect when redesigning this area was the creation of additional bicycle stands in the building entrance areas. Thus, numerous additional bicycle parking spaces were created next to the entrances which perfectly match with the overall design due to having used the same paving stone as in other sections of this area. The existing bicycle stands were renewed and equipped with new parking rails.
The second building phase has started at the beginning of this year. In the course of this building phase four other play areas will be reorganised. Hence, the obsolete sand play table will be substituted by a larger sand play area which will be equipped with a new sand play table and a playable hippopotamus sculpture. In addition, a PVC belt will be mounted in the adjacent lawn area which considerably increases the play value of this area. The other sectors will be improved through the installation of attractive new play devices and other play sculptures, such as a snake family. Through the installation of extraordinary seating areas, an outdoor "Mensch ärgere dich nicht" - playing field (German board game called "do not get angry"), further fitness devices and streetball baskets, the renovation of the areas will be completed. The reorganisation of the plant areas in this sector has already been implemented. However, by autumn at the latest, the residential settlement will be finished as a harmonious unit.
By Axel Schütze (Graduate Engineer AKNW / BDLA / Landscape Architect’s Office Axel Schütze)
Builder: GAG Immobilien AG, Cologne
Planning and building supervision: Landscape Architect’s Office Axel Schütze, Cologne
Implementation: Garden and Landscape company Ringbeck GmbH, Langenfeld
Play devices:
Company Kinderland ESF Emsland Spiel-und Freizeitgeräte GmbH & Co KG, Geeste
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