Square of the German Unity in Hamm

At the interface between the station and the pedestrian zone, the square, which was realised as part of the Stadtumbau-West Bahnhofsquartier programme, also forms the entrance to the Heinrich-von-Kleist-Forum, a cultural and educational centre with VHS, private university of applied sciences and city library, which was completed in 2010.

A grove of trees closes the existing building lines with its crowns and creates an independent, atmospheric place. Evergreen hedge lines provide directions for movement and, with their benches, are at the same time quiet places for a break in the city. The area is developed as a multi-layered garden square that functions like a picture puzzle: It conveys different pictorial contents from different viewing directions.

The freely distributed trees with their light crowns (Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis) form a light- and air-permeable green body that lends a spatial frame to the adjacent inner-city areas and that is at the same time perceived as a space in its own right. The trees stand in evergreen box hedge strips, which in their alignment emphasize the main pathway between the station and the pedestrian zone.
The hedges have an airy effect at the head ends and invite people to walk through them. The square character dominates in this viewing direction, while viewed from the opposite direction the site appears more like a garden.

The ensemble Bahnhofsquartier/Heinrich-von-Kleist-Forum with the Platz der Deutschen Einheit received a commendation at the German Urban Development Award 2010.