Gebläsehalle, Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord
Emscherstraße 71
47137 DuisburgThe three blast furnaces of the Aktiengesellschaft für Hüttenbetrieb, founded by August Thyssen in the north of Duisburg in 1902, began production the following year. By the year 1908, the 200-hectare site was home to five blast furnaces as well as a pit, a sintering plant, a coking plant and a foundry.
After the last shift had clocked off on 4th April 1985, a last minute action by local citizens succeeded in saving the plant from destruction. True to the philosophy of the international building exhibition IBA (1988-1999), the further development of this industrial landscape was to be determined by considerations of culture, tourism, recreation, environmental protection and ecology. The former halls of industry – the central power plant, blasting hall and foundry – were converted into impressive locations for theatre, dance and music.
The Gebläsehalle or blasting hall forms part of the former steam blasting plant, a complex dating back to the works' beginnings. It is 50 metres long by 12.4 metres wide and still contains four of the electric turbo compressors used to produce the furnace blast needed to smelt iron-ore. The neo-Romanesque semicircular windows and ornamental friezes below the eaves are typical of the historical-representative style of the period. The neighbouring pump house supplied the blast furnaces with cooling water. A compressor house was added in the 1950's. In 2002, Dortmund architects Rjamsfell converted the Gebläsehalle into a multifunctional theatre with seating for up to 700 people. They installed a new floor level in the 25 metre high space, thus raising the level of the actual theatre (new ceiling height 17.7 meters) and allowing access to the turbines, switch cabinets and slide units beneath the stage. The Gebläsehalle has already hosted RuhrTriennale productions by directors such as Robert Wilson (The Temptation of St. Anthony) and Christoph Marthaler (Pierrot Lunaire).