The Zollverein coal mine in Essen can be seen as a symbol of the region’s transformation process. Erected around 1930 by Fritz Schupp and Martin Kremmer as a unified whole, the complex is recognized today as a World Heritage Site. Starting in 1989, it was rehabilitated step by step by OMA and the Essen architects Heinrich Böll and Hans Krabel, and numerous institutions have since established themselves there, from the design museum by Foster + Partners to SANAA’s Zollverein School (both with Böll and Krabel).

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