Duisburg City is a symbol of increasing buying power and high quality of life. The new CityPalais and Forum shopping centers, both built by Bilfinger Berger, are shaping the image of the inner-city.
Text: Frank Reisel, Photos: Ralf Bille, Klaus Ravenstein
There is a sense of vibrancy at the König-Heinrich-Platz in Duisburg. Across from the classical columned entrance to the theater, vis-ā-vis the venerable district court building, the CityPalais is attracting visitors. Just one of the over 50 shopping centers built in the downtown core of a German city in recent years, but ground-breaking nevertheless. The CityPalais not only brings retail shops and restaurants together under one roof, it is also home to the Duisburg Casino – the most modern casino in Germany – and to the city’s philharmonic orchestra in the newly-built Mercatorhalle.
Duisburg is following the trend that leads away from construction in an empty field, bring its development back into the inner-city. “Urban planners and investors have discovered the advantages of inner-city locations: an interesting range of attractions makes the city core itself more attractive.
This increases the quality of life in the central residential areas. Centers like the CityPalais in Duisburg also tie-in buying power and prevent customers from taking their business to the outlying areas”, says Matthias Jacob, Head of Executive Management at Bilfinger Berger’s Building division.
Culture and entertainment
Modern shopping centers blend in organically to the existing city core – both in terms of their appearance and in terms of what they offer. The CityPalais Duisburg offers culture, shopping and entertainment. This allows the Palais to attract visitors even after the shops close and enlivens the surrounding streets. And just a stone’s throw from the strikingly rounded shape of the Palais, another shopping center is being built: the Forum Duisburg.