• The urban development process in Forst has been running for a good two years. Many people have been involved since then, several projects have been launched and there is broad-based political support.
• Lots of activity around the Zeppelinstraße bunker: street art has been adorning the building for months, and now the green façade and an upgrade of the surrounding area are being added.
• Committed citizens and the administration invite you to the bunker festival on Friday, November 28. Mayor Michael Ziemons will also be there.

Forst and its sub-areas Unterforst, Altforst, Schönforst, Forster Linde and Driescher Hof are to be strengthened for the future and made more attractive and liveable. One of the key projects implemented as part of the "Future Forst" district perspective is the facade design of the Zeppelinstrasse bunker. Upgrading the area around the bunker was an important concern of the people of Unterforst. The city presented this and other activities as part of the "Zukunft Forst" district perspective on Monday (November 24).

Together with Heiko Thomas, City Councillor for Climate, City Operations and Buildings, and the administrative team, City Councillor Frauke Burgdorff outlined the path taken, the initial successes and further goals. Everyone is also looking forward to the bunker festival on Friday, November 28, starting at 3 pm. Lord Mayor Dr. Michael Ziemons will also be coming to Unterforst for the opening.

"The design of the bunker is a fine example of the interaction between citizens and administration," say Frauke Burgdorff and Heiko Thomas, drawing a positive balance. They also take the successful project as a mandate for the city to stay on the ball in Forst.

Just months ago, a colorful festival around the Zeppelinstraße bunker was out of the question. Litter was carelessly thrown next to glass containers, and quite a few people found the area uncomfortable and rather forbidding. Committed people from Unterforst formulated their wish: Make the bunker and its surroundings more attractive! This was taken up by the administrative team of the district perspective "Zukunft Forst" led by project managers Christiane Schwarz (Department of Urban Development and Planning) and Alexandra Weis (Department of Housing, Social Affairs and Integration).

Façade greening and landscaping
The latest success: the bunker has been given a green façade. The municipal building management team came on board at this point. "The planning for this requires a lot of specialist knowledge and helping hands. This measure is therefore also a good example of a joint project between the city administration and citizens," explains Christiane Schwarz. The results are already impressive: Raised beds and new seating enrich the space, and a new location has been found for the glass containers - which has a positive effect on the whole area.

The central element is the greenery: "We are talking about a pilot project for the administration. For the first time, we have been able to implement greenery in public spaces on a municipal building," says Jens Hauschild, Commercial Director of Building Management. The project manager in his team is Luisa Strehl from the Sustainable Building department. "We are focusing on a varied, biodiverse selection of plants," she explains. Around 560 plants and 15 different plant species were planted. These are ground-bound self-climbers (climbing hydrangea and wild vine) for the façade greening as well as ground-covering perennials at the base of the climbing plants and so-called solitary shrubs (copper rock pear, snowball, blood plum) and perennial planting in the raised bed (including sage, coneflower and autumn anemone).

More light at the bunker
The administration has also actively involved local stakeholders in this measure, particularly in the design of the bunker's surroundings - including both the music association as a tenant of the bunker and the Forst steering group. An important element is the future illumination of the green façade, which was realized in cooperation with Regionetz and thanks to the support of the Lichtprojekt Aachen association. It should help to make people feel safer in the area around the bunker. Also new: an electricity and water connection to ensure an uncomplicated supply for neighborhood festivals and other events.

Back in early summer, the Zeppelinstraße bunker became a real eye-catcher thanks to a sensational street art design on the façade facing Mataréstraße. The city had previously announced a competition. Four artists submitted their designs. Residents from the neighborhood, pupils and parents from the Mataréstraße Montessori elementary school entered the competition and were able to vote for their favorite. Alex Jagama Shifferaw emerged as the winner with his project: "Forst im Aufbruch". His artwork has been enriching the neighborhood for months and has received much praise.

Urban development process Zukunft Forst
The city of Aachen launched the urban development process in 2022. In the first two-year phase, there were numerous, particularly outreach participation formats to involve local people. What are they missing in their neighborhood? What should be improved? What acute problems need to be solved? The administration is currently working on applying for urban development funding for the urban space in the coming year. Frauke Burgdorff knows: "Urban development funding is an effective but lengthy process. It takes a long time from the idea to implementation." For this reason, the so-called interim period was proclaimed in order to become visible quickly and unbureaucratically on site in the sub-areas and to implement initial projects under the motto "We are growing together" - as is now the case with the bunker. Local politicians support this approach across all political groups and have quickly made funds available for this purpose, thus enabling citizen-oriented action.

So far, the interim goal has been successful: There has already been a street festival at Trierer Platz in May 2024, and recently the color scheme of the public space around St. Katharina in Forster Linde also caused a stir. The upgrading of the bunker's facades and surroundings is the most extensive project of the interim period. At the same time, plans are already underway to equip other locations with seating furniture, among other things.

When looking at the new bunker façade, the people responsible in the administration now have one hope above all: "We hope that the planting can now grow in peace and that the mural will also be appreciated on behalf of all the people here in the district, so that this enhancement will be well preserved for a long time and can be a great added value," say Christiane Schwarz and Luisa Strehl.

Street and bunker festival
What has been achieved so far will first be celebrated in style. The bunker festival invites everyone in the neighborhood (and beyond) to Zeppelinstraße on Friday, November 28, from 3 to 5 pm. Lord Mayor Dr. Michael Ziemons will attend the opening and official "inauguration" of the new green façade. There is a fine program, as Maria Feldhaus from the Unterforst working group explains. For example, the choir from MGS Mataréstraße will be performing, there will be several hands-on activities, plus waffles and hot drinks. The working group has evolved from the committed neighborhood. It acts as a point of contact, even when things aren't going so well. "The neighbourhood management acts as an interface to the administration, incorporates the needs of the neighbourhood into the urban development process and also provides advice and support when it comes to organizing events such as the bunker festival," explains Alexandra Weis.

Further information: www.aachen.de/zukunft-forst.