Blower House Complex

In the Blower House Complex Here there were at first three, then four blowers which generated the furnace wind. The complex comprising Blower House, Foyer, Pump House and Compressor Room is today a stage for conventions, operas and concerts. The various halls of this complex provide space for well nigh every sort of function. So, for example the Swedish royal couple opened a convention here; Götz George celebrated a film première; and Christoph Schlingensief produced a much acclaimed stage event for the Ruhrtriennale.

History

The steam Blower House with attached Pump House and Power Plant was used from the very foundation of the works to generate electric power and hot wind. It was built as long ago as 1902 and is thus one of the oldest preserved buildings on the site of the Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord.

Later a compressor room was built on. After the vertical steam blowers were superseded by horizontal blowing machines in the power plant in 1952, it was not until 1970, with the installation of electric turbo blowers, that the blower house again assumed its original function.

In the context of the International Building Exhibition Emscher Park (IBA), the Blower House Complex was converted into an event venue in 1993. In 2002 the Blower House was equipped with tiered seating for 500 people, a stage and the very latest in events technology.