Düsseldorf high-rise plan

De Zwarte Hond is developing a new high-rise plan (Hochhausrahmenplan) for the city of Düsseldorf. The previous plan dates from 2004 and is due for a major update.

Since 2004, the demand for high-rise projects in Düsseldorf has been steadily increasing. Furthermore, the character of high-rises is also changing: whereas the focus was initially on offices, housing is now high on the agenda. "in the area of sustainability and mobility, we now ask very different questions than we did 15 years ago, and that has consequences for the high-rise plan," says Matthias Rottmann, partner at De Zwarte Hond. "The plan not only makes the criteria for high-rise buildings more transparent, but it also outlines the city’s ambitions. it focuses on the ways that high-rises can make a positive contribution to the city and should motivate architects and developers to take this approach.” The plan will include guiding principles for future high-rise projects and a spatial model that defines high-rise zones.

Advisory Board
De Zwarte Hond will work together with the new high-rise advisory board to prepare the plan. At the first board meeting in September, Cornelia Zuschke, alderman for spatial planning and mobility, commented that land is scarce in Düsseldorf and the city has the potential to expand vertically: "The subject of high-rise development has a significance especially in this context for urban development."

The high-rise board will advise the city during the process of drafting the new high-rise plan. Based on the new plan, the board will review applications and make recommendations for current high-rise projects.