Consumption is a major component of modern life. Despite their signif­icance in economic, urban development and social terms, commercial structures have featured very little in the architecture debate for decades. However, in recent years, planners, project developers and investors have been rethinking this for cities. Changing production forms, global trade routes, increasing online trading and new sales concepts require a rethink of spatial schemes and architecture. New urban concepts for the retail trade, altered sites and sensible mixed uses are revitalising city centres today. Just look at Sankt Augustin. A modern shopping centre is being built in two construction stages, not only to cover daily needs, but also to give definitive shape to the face of the centre of Sankt Augustin.

Sankt Augustin is a relatively new town, created through the amalga­mation of nine small communities. Huma has been the main shopping centre for these communities since the 1970s. In a complex construction project, the city is now seizing the opportunity to create not just a new shopping centre, but an entirely reconfigured city centre, in cooperation with Jost Hurler. There has been a town hall, a health centre, a nearby university and the shopping centre for years – but never really a centre in the classic sense. Now the project developers are taking the chance to create a real city centre. Both the shopping centre and the marketplace are being redesigned and the environment is being optimised, including a large park. In terms of infrastructure, two car parks are being extended, a new tram stop is being built and the Ost-West-Spange [east-west branch], a tram underpass, is being expanded for private transport.

In order to initiate a project of this size, very good arguments needed to be put to the city in advance, in order to obtain broader planning permission. “It is an unbelievably complex process that requires a clear definition of objectives right at the start. For us, it is people who are always at the forefront of our consid­er­ations. It’s all about creating attracting living space. This also means that it is not just the city officials that need to be involved from a very early stage, but also the general public. We need to show everyone affected that we want them involved and with us every step of the way. There were a lot of information meetings and town meetings and we really tried to answer every question,” says Lars Johannsen, Managing Director of the Jost Hurler Group, when asked about the process for obtaining planning permission. This effort seems to have been worth it: “Local residents are already really interested in their new centre, they are following the process and trying to help us optimise everything, ” says Julia Facius, in charge of project development at Jost Hurler.

The decision to demolish the old centre and replace it with a new one was based on functional, technical and design reasons. The centre was still running fine, but its spatial config­u­ration was no longer future-proof. The units were not the right size or shape. There were no intercon­necting shopping streets, just a series of winding passageways. All very different from the new centre. “Everything is very welcoming and bright. Using daylight as lighting is important, so we have incorporated enormous glazed entrances and courtyards. The main design theme is ‘Nature’, inspired by the beautiful park.

A huge quantity of green plants are being placed inside – real plants, which was very important to me. There is a huge moss wall by the north entrance and a large water wall is being planned for the south entrance. We are hoping to incorporate a lot of wood into the food court. Nature, water, plants, wood …,” says Julia Facius enthusi­as­tically. “With our building and functional concept and services, we are trying to avoid the compulsion to be ultra-modern; we just want to make life simpler for our customers. Life is complex enough as it is,” adds centre manager Klaus Kricks, who has worked in various retail positions for over 20 years. He continues: “We understand how to combine the world of real estate and the world of retail. That’s what made us choose Jost Hurler. After all, half our heart always belongs to retail. And that’s where the company comes from.”