New life in the city centre

CORE in Oldenburg shows what the future of city centres might hold – this is where innovative working concepts, lifestyle and gastronomy meet the best the region has to offer and international street food.

For a long time the former Hertie store in the centre of Oldenburg lay empty, but since April 2021 the 6000 square metre site has been buzzing again thanks to initiator and architect Alexis Angelis. The repurposing of what used to be the city’s iconic department store represents a resource-saving transformation into a new state-of-the-art centre for work. Innovation platform CORE is just one of the companies to have moved into the building. As part of the management concept developed in the NEU_FUNDLAND projects, there are now state-of-the-art co-working spaces as well as meeting and events rooms and a market hall with food outlets across the approx. 2500 square metre site.

Open and dynamic

The floor plan was comprehensively gutted and redeveloped to create an open, dynamic venue for interdisciplinary exchange, where people can come together in the urban environment. Large glass facades allow plenty of light in while creating a sense of transparency and connectedness.

The grandstand is also bright and modern with three tiers of wooden seating. They are in the centre of the Market Hall – CORE’s restaurant hub which is open to the public and ideal for public and semi-public presentations. Two auditoria can also hold up to 250 people. The flexible, permanent co-working stations as well as the almost entirely glazed meeting rooms are located on the upper floor, as are lounges and a kitchenette.

Modern urban character

The interior design and furnishing scheme were tailored to CORE in conjunction with Noord Good Interior and accentuate the modern urban character of the overall design with a combination of industrial fabric ceilings as well as materials such as concrete, wood, glass and metal. Everything from the ventilation ducts, lighting installations and cable bridges have been left deliberately exposed to underline the industrial feel. Wood wool panels have been installed both on some of the ceilings as a design feature and in the lounge areas, where their positive acoustic properties are particularly effective.