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Architects: D/FORM Architects
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Studio Bowie
Text description provided by the architects. The former Eldemühle mill in Parchim, once the last operating, large mill in Mecklenburg, has been given a new lease of life as the „Kulturmühle Parchim“. In May 2023 the historic flour mill was reopened after an extensive renovation and expansion. This summer the new cultural hub looks back on its first successful year with more than 14.000 museum visitors and a total of 200 theatre performances enjoyed by around 29.000 visitors.
On this year‘s „DAY OF ARCHITECTURE“ with the befitting motto „SIMPLY (RE)BUILD“ the project’s lead architect and founding partner of D/FORM ARCHITEKTEN Kilian Enders will give interested visitors a tour of the ensemble, explaining the project and its architectural approach as well as providing insight into the construction process. After fifteen years of closure, the Eldemühle was revitalized by the district of Ludwigslust-Parchim. A versatile cultural complex was created through an extensive renovation and extension by D/FORM ARCHITEKTEN (Berlin/Alt Kentzlin) in collaboration with the general contractor HTG Hoch- und Tiefbau Gadebusch GmbH. It functions as the new home of the “The Mecklenburg State Theatre for North German Drama” (Fritz-Reuter-Bühne) and “The Children and Youth Theatre” (Junges Staatstheater Parchim) as well as the Parchim “Town Museum”.
Nestled between the former town fortifications and a branch of the River Elde, the Kulturmühle Parchim presents itself as a civic meeting hub. At the heart of the complex is the theatre, which has found its place in the new annex. With its centrally located stage and theatre workshops, rehearsal spaces, and dressing rooms on the upper floors, it offers ideal conditions for performances and rehearsals. The industrial character and spatial qualities of the heritage-listed six-story mill complex from 1897 have been preserved and can still be experienced by visitors after the remodeling. The historic brick walls, wooden beam ceilings, and steel structure have been exposed and the materiality of the new fixtures has been intentionally left bare and rustic.
The modern extension in the former courtyard of the ensemble adopts the proportions, materiality, and vertical façade structure of the mill building and interprets these features with a contemporary architectural expression and twist: The curved brick façade gives the impression of a theatre curtain. The waterfront of the newly created ensemble shapes the cityscape and invites the public to discover Parchim as a lively residential and cultural location. The former flowing motion of the mill’s conveyor belts has morphed into a visitor circulation from the shared foyer via a central staircase between the uses in the old and new building wings. The transformation into a lively cultural center has successfully revitalized the Elde Mill while preserving its identity and historic importance for Parchim.
