City Plaza is a department store developed in Wuppertal, Germany. It is part of an urban redevelopment programme launched to revitalise the area.
The project was developed by Ireland-based developer Signature Capital with an estimated investment of €30m ($35.5m). The project was approved by the Wuppertal City Council in February 2015.
Recommended White Papers
The foundation stone-laying ceremony for the project took place in November 2016, while the store was opened in April 2019.
The project won the German Polis Award under the regenerated centres category in April 2016. City Plaza also won the award for best retail architecture in Germany, in September 2019.
City Plaza location
City Plaza was built in Doppersberg, Wuppertal, which is located between Wuppertal train station and existing Wuppertal city centre. The town is situated in North-Rhine Westphalia, east of Dusseldorf, with a population of approximately 350,000.
The area is home to the city’s top pedestrianised shopping street and undergoing redevelopment with a number of retail projects being built in the area with High Street offerings.
City Plaza is being marked as the ‘rail gateway’ to the Wuppertal city centre. It became part of several iconic buildings located in front of the train station.
City Plaza design and construction details
City Plaza features a curved façade, which protrudes 2m above the ground floor on the top floor. It is clad with brass panels and alternating glass panels.
High-precision composite elements of varying thicknesses were used for the façade. Made of glass, mineral fibre, and aluminium, the elements provide heat and fire protection, as well as sound insulation.
The Bundesallee main road near the project was lowered by 6m to provide a seamless and pedestrian-friendly connection between the train station and the city centre.A new bridge flanked by retail pavilions on both sides was developed to link the City Plaza with the existing shopping street.
Facilities and retail outlets at City Plaza
The City Plaza hosts a five-storey flagship PRIMARK outlet, which covers approximately 9,500m². It also hosts outlets of Tally Weijl, Vorwerk and dm-drogerie markt, a chain of drug and cosmetics stores.
Another 2,300m² area is let out to numerous individual shops ranging from 60m² to 600m² in size, arranged around the newly constructed plaza.
The plaza has attractive retail offerings, ample underground parking spaces, one-storey business passage, and transport links to provide customers with a pleasant shopping and socialising experience.
Contractors involved
Chapman Taylor’s Dusseldorf-based studio was selected for providing architecture and interior design services for the project.
POHL provided material and construction support for the façade system, as well as the surface material, while Linzmeier supplied its LINIT facade elements for the construction of the curved façade.
Marketing commentary on Wuppertal redevelopment
The redevelopment of Wuppertal and Doppersberg will provide space for private investments in the retail, service, and catering sectors. It also includes the redevelopment of the station surroundings and the bus station to improve accessibility.
The city and federal governments invested €140m ($165m) in rail and road infrastructure, as well as amenities, to provide transport connections to the redevelopment area. The congested lanes were redeveloped to create pedestrian-friendly and development spaces for private investments.
