On 7 October 2016, the Magazingebäude was officially handed over to the university during a small ceremony. Students and academic staff now enjoy working and studying in the building, which covers a total area of 1,850 square metres.
In a record time of just nine months, the municipal subsidiary Starterzentrum Dieprahm GmbH has converted the former warehouse building at the West Mine and made it available to Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences. The building was originally designed for use as a warehouse. As a ‘general store for miners’, it housed a wide variety of materials for work both above and below ground, ranging from screws of all sizes to tools and gloves. Later, whilst already partly used by the mine management, the building has been refurbished over the past few months to improve energy efficiency, fire safety and accessibility, whilst preserving its listed façade. With the exception of the location of the stairwell and the lift, the interior of the building has also been completely re-laid out. Office and seminar rooms have been created across three floors, covering a total lettable area of 1,850 square metres. A particular eye-catcher is the green wall in the entrance area. Lecturers and students moved into the premises at Friedrich-Heinrich-Allee 59 as early as the beginning of August.
Today (7 October), the building was officially handed over to the university in a small ceremony. “The Magazingebäude is the first anchor tenant on the colliery site and thus plays a pioneering role in the site’s further development. This clearly demonstrates that we in Kamp-Lintfort are tackling structural change head-on. Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences is a key driving force for us in this regard,” said Mayor Prof. Dr Christoph Landscheidt in front of around 100 invited guests from politics, administration and business, as well as the companies and craft businesses involved. This was also emphasised by University President Dr Heide Naderer: “We see ourselves as a knowledge hub at the heart of the city and as a key regional economic player. To achieve this, high-quality teaching and research also require suitable premises.”
In June 2015, Starterzentrum Dieprahm GmbH acquired the building from RAG Montan Immobilien GmbH. The company is owned by the town of Kamp-Lintfort and the Institute for Mobile and Satellite Communications Technology (IMST GmbH). Since 2000, the start-up centre in the Dieprahm Technology Park has been providing technology-oriented start-ups with affordable office space for up to five years. Having established a strong market presence, the company has expanded its business activities by purchasing the warehouse building and letting it to the Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences. Dieter Tenhaeff, business development officer and managing director of the start-up centre, expressed his satisfaction in conclusion: “With the warehouse building, we are demonstrating how listed buildings can be brought back to life and what is possible at this location. There is no better calling card for further investors.”
Caption: A sort of ‘inauguration ceremony’: Vice-President Prof. Dr Jens Gebauer, Acting Chancellor Karsten Koppetsch, Dean Prof. Dr Andreas Schürholz, Deputy District Administrator Josef Devers (back row, from left to right), Member of the State Parliament René Schneider, Senior Ministerial Adviser Sigrid Rix-Diester, University President Dr Heide Naderer, Mayor Christoph Landscheidt, Vice-President Prof. Dr Georg Hauck and business development officer Dieter Tenhaeff (front row, from left to right) in front of the refurbished warehouse building.
