Client
City of Mönchengladbach

Landscape architecture
Lohrer.Hochrein Landscape Architects and Urban Planners GmbH

Traffic planning
Ambrosius Blanke Transport Infrastructure, Bochum

Art installation
Rita McBride

Photos
Theo Titz (Aerial Photography)
Claus Boeckh

Completion
2016

Project Team DAY & LIGHT
Frank Vetter
Julia Wallner

The "donkey paths" by renowned sculptor Rita McBride, with their winding lines on the ground, symbolically visualise the relationships between the key elements of Sonnenhausplatz: the shopping centre, the retirement home, the adult education centre, the museum, the park, and the Sonnenhaus itself. Landscape architects lohrer.hochrein and traffic planners Ambrosius Blanke have also succeeded in creating these connections through the new plaza design. Free sightlines and pathway connections are maintained across the generous plaza area. The plaza is segmented by sequences of tree clusters and zones with seating areas, as well as by flowing staircases.

The lighting highlights the vibrant use of the space through freely scattered islands of light. Spotlights on tall light poles accentuate the clusters of trees, creating plasticity and bringing out the sparkle in the reflective elements embedded in the asphalt through their brilliance.

The park is visually integrated into the plaza design. A band of light in the ground subtly illuminates the curved hedge along the park's boundary, discreetly completing the plaza area.