Over 1,000 ideas were submitted to us as part of a broad public participation process. The ideas were arranged and grouped into overarching concepts. In total, five key concepts were established that would characterize the development of all conversion sites as quality brands. They ensure not only high-quality development, but also consistent alignment with the public’s ideas. Independent projects such as BUGA 2023 or Blue City Mannheim have already been developed using these five concepts.
Quality Brands in the Conversion Process
Green
Mannheim will be greener! Very early in 2011, many citizens saw the link between the four large barracks and the chance of finally having connections instead of fences as well as having access to forests and rivers. This is possible with a green belt, stretching from the Neckar to the Rhine via the Spinelli Barracks, Taylor Barracks and Benjamin Franklin Village in the Käfertal Forest, inviting you to experience nature. The green belt allows us to move closer to water. Along with a Federal Garden Show, which returns to Mannheim in 2023, this will not only make Mannheim more attractive for its citizens, but will also make the city an attraction for the region and beyond.
Housing
The conversion offers the perspective of creating housing opportunities that are currently lacking in Mannheim - addressing situations that, for the moment, cannot be provided for. Mannheim, therefore, has the opportunity to offer a larger, more colourful and broader range of housing than before. This means gaining more sophisticated residential addresses while developing houses for families, modifiable urban housing systems for creative, younger tenants and community projects. Such considerations have been successfully incorporated into the planning of the Turley site for three residential projects and are also expected to shape FRANKLIN. Important is that all groups in the urban community are served and inclusivity is accounted for. The "Round Table - Community Living in Mannheim" is accompanying this process. Here, initiatives for planning community housing projects join interested individuals who would like to live together or foster this concept in Mannheim.
Blue City Mannheim & the Engineering Mile
Blue City Mannheim is Mannheim's strategy for innovative, technology-supported and sustainable development. Based on the plans for the conversion areas, measures have been set in motion for a low-emission, greener and future-oriented Mannheim. Particularly along the B38, there is the possibility to provide the various conversion areas with the appropriate commercial stimuli. The Turley Barracks and Taylor Barracks were the first two conversion sites to achieve such success. Compared to many other concepts involving integrated neighborhood development with energy efficiency aspects and smart solutions for energy, heating and cooling supply, FRANKLIN’s special feature is that all mobility aspects (especially e-mobility) have been consistently integrated into the concept. The aim here is to develop FRANKLIN into a model neighbourhood for energy efficiency, smart grids and sustainable mobility, particularly electromobility.
Culture
Mannheim is on the historical precipice of being "military-free" for the first time since 1606. The goal is to preserve historical ties – from the prehistoric river landscape, to the Americans’ influence on music, sport and society, to the diversity of the city and democratization – and bring them to life. These approaches have accompanied specific projects such as the "ZeitStrom" history project and the planning of sports and exercise areas.
Energy & Quality
Attractive spaces and creative potential – these opportunities and the possibility to spatially combine housing, work and culture and to set architectural beacons are the aims of the Energetic & Quality Building brand. The internationally renowned architects Winy Maas and Diébédo Francis Kéré bring their experience, expertise and creativity to Mannheim to exercise these opportunities on the conversion sites. The Danish office Tegnestuen Vandkunsten created the FRANKLIN outline plan.