EFFEKT's winning design brings new life to old newspaper district in Kiel, Germany

A regional German newspaper will be moving into a revitalized new headquarters in downtown Kiel thanks to a winning design by Copenhagen-based studio EFFEKT.

The new KielHöfe development will transform the Kiel Nachrichten newspaper’s former editorial and printing offices into a multi-use center with meeting spaces and a food court that hopes to revitalize the city center. 

Per the architect: “Fleethörn will still be the center for news, but in the future, the citizens of Kiel are invited right into the heart of the newspaper by integrating and interweaving the newspaper functions into the urban fabric and mixing these with new and related cultural programs. KielHöfe explores a new way of disseminating information and sharing knowledge and experiences between a wide variety of users and interest groups.”

The decommissioned printing press has taken up a one-block footprint in downtown Kiel for almost a hundred years and will now be expanded to a 36,000-square-foot center using mostly timber construction. Roman arches and a coterie of rooftop garden spaces add to the decorative elements to create an elegant profile with nods to the district’s unique identity.

EFFEKT coordinated with Petersen-Ingenieure GmbH and other local firms on the site's master plan. 

A gallery of additional project images and drawings can be viewed below.