Landeshaus Cologne
Headquarters of the Rhineland Regional Council on the Rhine — a landmark of postwar modernism in the style of Mies van der Rohe.
A 1955 architectural competition drew 91 participating firms, yet the jury awarded no first prize — only two second prizes, favoring low, elongated volumes over a high-rise design.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- Administrative building, headquarters of the Rhineland Regional Council (Landschaftsverband Rheinland)
- Location
- Kennedy-Ufer 2, Cologne-Deutz, directly on the Rhine
- Construction
- 1956 to 1959, inaugurated on 6 November 1959
- Architects
- Eckhard Schulze-Fielitz, Ernst von Rudloff, Ulrich Schmidt von Altenstadt
- Form
- five-story building with four wings around a central courtyard
- Heritage status
- listed on Cologne's register of protected monuments since 2 November 1987
In the 1955 architecture competition with 91 participating firms, the jury awarded no first prize at all, but instead gave out two second prizes – one of which later led to the actual building commission.
History
The Rhineland Regional Council was formed after the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament established regional councils as a tier of local self-government in 1953. It was initially based in the Landeshaus in Düsseldorf. Cologne politician Theo Burauen pushed through the relocation of the headquarters to Cologne, decided on 27 March 1957. The move sparked controversy over added costs and the roughly 1,600 staff affected, leading to two votes and an administrative court case. The city of Cologne provided the site — previously home to the Haus der Rheinischen Geschichte, destroyed in World War II — free of charge. The cornerstone was laid on 29 October 1957, and the building was occupied by 27 January 1960.
From Competition Design to Building
The award-winning design by the Essen architectural partnership envisioned a steel-frame structure with four wings measuring 112 by 64 meters, its freestanding ground floor partly overhanging the riverside promenade. What was actually built departed from this: a reinforced concrete skeleton-frame structure set back about 45 meters from the Rhine.
Architecture
The building follows the functionalist principles of the Bauhaus in the tradition of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. On the ground floor, a column grid of 7 by 7 meters supports the structure, leaving an unobstructed view from east to west toward the Rhine beneath the building. Staircases in the corners provide access to the office floors. The glass-and-aluminum curtain wall features blue-green panels in the spandrels. The glazed lobbies on the north and south sides were originally furnished with armchairs designed by Mies van der Rohe himself.
Heritage Protection and Use Today
On 2 November 1987, the city of Cologne added the building to its list of protected monuments as an example of the avant-garde postwar West German architectural movement that directly continued the modernist tradition further developed in the USA, applying Mies van der Rohe's principles down to the smallest detail. From 1997 to 1999 it underwent comprehensive restoration in line with heritage conservation requirements. Set within green grounds stretching from Mindener Straße to Kennedy-Ufer, it continues to serve as the central administrative seat of the Rhineland Regional Council.
Timeline
- 1953NRW state parliament establishes the regional associations
- 1955Architecture competition with 91 participating firms
- 1956Jury awards two second prizes; commission goes to Schulze-Fielitz/von Rudloff/Schmidt von Altenstadt
- 27. März 1957Burauen prevails in decision to move administrative seat to Cologne
- 29. Oktober 1957Foundation stone laid for the Landeshaus
- 6. November 1959Building inaugurated
- 27. Januar 1960Building fully occupied
- 2. November 1987Listed as a heritage monument by the city of Cologne
- 1997–1999Comprehensive heritage-conscious renovation
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Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-09-16
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