Re-Use

The gigantic Elbe Vockerode power plant, built in the garden realm of Dessau-Wörlitz during Germany's tumultuous and tragic 1930s, has now been closed since 1994, but it remains—next to the Magdeburg cathedral—the biggest landmark travelers encounter in the State of Saxony-Anhalt. The power plant was first used as a cultural space in connection with Expo 2000, when more than 120,000 visitors came to exhibits and events there. Since then, interest in the plant's re-use has only increased. The most recent Hans Heinrich Müller Award for up-and-coming architects, urban planners and preservationists solicited ideas from ten top schools. Their innovative visions underline the vast space's potential and show how it could be developed into a center with a wide sphere of influence.