With the redesign of the green space on Hölkeskampring in Herne, which was completed in 2015, a lively park for everyone has been created in the largest green space in the city centre of Herne. The one-kilometre-long green space is characterised by a special, cross-generational concept and was awarded the Deutscher Spielraumpreis (German Play Space Prize) in 2015.
The park at Hölkeskampring in Herne, a city of about 161,000 inhabitants in North Rhine-Westphalia, was created in the 1960s and has not been considerably redesigned since then. It has an average width of 40 metres and a length of about 1,000 metres. Before the redesign there was hardly any playground equipment left, and if there was, it was rather outdated. During the redesign, the focus was on reducing the deficits in play areas and exercise facilities, especially for senior citizens, and on making the green space barrier-free and accessible on foot to the neighbouring districts. In addition, it was important to significantly increase the quality of stay by providing appropriate furniture and attractive perennial plantings.
The main focus of the City of Herne was to improve the attractiveness of the sub-areas of the green corridor. As far as possible, the individual functional areas should be visible to the neighbouring areas. New pathways were created to improve the connections to the outside and between the functional areas. Through the selective removal of some very dense and problematic trees, the park became brighter, friendlier and more visible. As a result, the targeted increase of use could be achieved. All redesign measures were based on participatory processes. In addition to the classic public participation, there were separate participation processes with children and young people, which took place under the moderation of the municipal ombudsperson for children.
Diverse user groups and special offers
By creating play facilities, such as a toddler area and an area for older children, the park should become more attractive, especially for families. In addition to this user group, the planning also included day-care centres, schools, senior residences and a hospital - institutions that are all located within the same catchment area. An important aspect was to install exercise facilities for the senior citizens. Due to its nature, this special equipment keeps the inhibition threshold low and enables simple training for flexibility exercises (arms, legs, trunk). To support the usage, this equipment was placed in the area of a large, attractive shrub planting with numerous seating options which enable the users to rest from the exercise and to communicate with others. Through the adjacent play area for smaller children, there is thus also an offer for senior citizens with their grandchildren. For young people, an obstacle course was created, which is a unique feature in this region and of the green corridor. A circular running track with exercise equipment appeals to athletes of various kinds.
Barrier-free accessibility
All access points to the green corridor were equipped with walkways with tactile guidance systems. This also applies to adjacent road crossings and intersections - with and without traffic lights. This ensures that the park can be used to its full extent by people with visual impairments. In the green corridor itself, the guidance system consists of a raised path edge; at bench places and path crossings, white grooved plates provide safe guidance. Quite intentionally, this path was laid out parallel to the existing paved path. The paved path serves as a footpath and cycle path that is heavily frequented by schoolchildren, especially in the mornings and afternoons.
All paths have only a slight gradient, so that the entire park is also accessible for both senior citizens with walking frames and wheelchair users.
Selection and participation
Children from a day-care centre were involved in the selection of equipment for the toddler playground, the dominant materials are wood and steel, sand serves as fall protection.
Regarding the play area for the older children (play valley), children from a neighbouring school decided to create a pirate playground. Here, two huts, a ship, climbing facilities and a ropeway were created from glazed wood and steel, among other things. An eye-catching rubber surface in different shades of blue (EPDM) serves as fall protection.
The "obstacle course" area desired by young people was created from concrete and steel elements, which were supplemented by boulders, wooden logs and ground modelling. The surface is made of rubber, concrete paving or grass, depending on the requirements.
For senior citizens, a range of special physical activity and mobility equipment made of stainless steel has been created that specifically addresses the 70+ age group and promotes the mobility of arms, legs and torso at a total of six stations.
Space creation and environment
Within the green corridor, the usage offers are arranged like a string of pearls. As far as possible, there are visual connections between all functional areas. However, a mutually disturbing proximity of the quiet and active areas has been avoided. Thus quiet and active zones were separated from each other. Great emphasis in the planning was placed on the balanced coexistence of all user groups - from dog owners to joggers, small children, young people, families and senior citizens.
In the toddlers' playground creative space creation was achieved through a hedge around the perimeter and in the area of the pirate playground through special ground modelling. In the other areas of the green corridor, it was important to everyone involved in the planning process to maintain social control through an open design that attracts the public.
Already from the beginning, the aim was to improve accessibility and integration into the surroundings. Before the planning process began, an urban planning analysis had been carried out, also with regard to the infrastructural connection - in particular, pathways, cycle paths and public transport had been taken into account. The park entrances were opened up by removing groups of shrubs and individual trees. All entrances have been redesigned and are now barrier-free areas.
Planning process
The City of Herne conducted a selection procedure with five planning offices before commissioning the project. Munder und Erzepky Landschaftsarchitekten, as the commissioned landscape architects, were also involved in the participation process. From September 2013 to June 2015, we were involved in all phases of the construction project, from preliminary design to completion. The results of the citizens' and children's participation were also incorporated into the preliminary design. The draft was presented to the planning committee and the youth committee and finally approved for implementation by the district council.
Conclusion
The diverse range of barrier-free play areas and playground equipment within the approximately 1,000 metres of newly formatted green space is particularly positive. The visible connection between the green and the urban space, especially to the north, shows the proximity to possible user groups. This kind of a "play snake" is an unusual approach. However, it must be expected that individual users will play in the long space rather selectively. A particularly characteristic feature of the green area is that it has been possible to create many different offers for different user groups. In addition to classic toddler playgrounds, there are also simple balancing beams, quite demanding individual concrete elements for gymnastics or jumping (obstacle course), equipment designed for senior citizens and typical play landscapes. In any case, everyone will find something to do in this challenging exercise landscape.
With the redesign of the green corridor at Hölkeskampring, a lively park for everyone has been created in the largest green area in the city centre of Herne.
The high frequency of visitors to the facility since its opening in summer 2015 and the positive feedback from various user groups confirm that this goal has been achieved.
The project "Grünzug Hölkeskampring in Herne" was awarded the main prize in the second rank by the expert jury of the Deutscher Spielraum-Preis 2015 for the annual theme "Barrier-free play and exercise spaces".
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