In Hanover’s city center, the future of the empty former Kaufhof building on Schmiedestrasse is taking shape. After the department store has been unused for around three years, the outer facade is now to be redesigned, the city of Hanover announced on Thursday.
For the architectural redesign, owner Oliver Blume initiated an ideas competition together with the state capital’s building department in December 2025. From the designs submitted, the jury selected the proposal from the internationally renowned architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron from Basel.
The winning concept envisages giving the former Kaufhof building an “airy clinker brick dress”. In doing so, the architects are taking up the tradition of public brick buildings in Hanover. At the same time, the new design is intended to give the previously massive department store building more openness, light and lightness.
But it’s not just the building’s facade that is being reworked. Blume is also planning a comprehensive new use of the property in order to revitalize the location in the transition to the old town. Shops and restaurants are planned on the ground floor. In addition, a vocational school will move in over three floors. The usage concept is complemented by a sports hall and residential apartments on the roof.
The six facade designs that made it into the shortlist alongside the winning concept will also be on display in a public exhibition from April 13th to May 18th. This takes place on the first floor of the building administration at Rudolf-Hillebrecht-Platz 1 in Hanover.
