Since its opening in 1965, the Ruhrfestspielhaus has been a central venue for cultural life in Recklinghausen; at the same time, it serves as the main venue for the renowned annual Ruhr Festival. Since its redesign in 1998, the house has also been used as a congress and conference venue. The Ruhrfestspielhaus is currently in a state of disrepair. Against the background of this necessary renovation and its financial viability, the question arises as to the future positioning and orientation of the house.
The city would like to take this opportunity to initiate a fundamental reorientation of the Ruhrfestspielhaus towards a contemporary and all-day venue. In accordance with a "third place", in future not only visitors to evening events but also other target groups are to be addressed. In a first step, actori carried out a comprehensive market, trend and competition analysis and derived the requirements for the new orientation. The existing uses were recorded and possible new uses such as temporary exhibitions, a rehearsal room, a children's corner, or educational offers were developed and discussed and supplemented in a participatory workshop format.
Based on the new utilisation concept in the sense of a lively and open centre for the performing arts for the urban society as well as the regional population, recommendations for the space and function planning were finally derived.
The project was implemented by Katharina Pachta-Reyhofen, Consultant and Amélie Strobel, Project Management.