Town Hall Update: Preparations for the extension are almost complete

Construction work is progressing steadily at the town hall building site on Berliner Platz. A key focus of the current work is on the building's roof, where preparations are under way for the addition of a new fourth storey.

Here, the stairwell has already been raised by one storey and a further flight of stairs has been concreted in place. To enable further interior work on the floors below to proceed regardless of the weather, the roof surface has been fitted with extensive waterproofing, ensuring that the building's interior is effectively protected against rainwater ingress.

At the same time, the extension of the new backstage area for the theatre is visibly rising in height. Whilst the structural work on the basement has already been fully completed, concrete work is currently underway on the ground floor walls. The new building will offer significantly more space in future, for example for the delivery and compliant temporary storage of scenery and modern technical equipment, enabling even larger guest performances and stage productions to be staged smoothly in Bocholt.

There is also plenty going on in the historic stage tower. The space, which is around 20 metres high, has been completely gutted, so that the old technical equipment and all the fabrics have been fully removed. Two weeks ago, the specialist contractors began the preparatory work for installing the new technical equipment. Inside the building, work on the technical infrastructure is also progressing. Electrical trunking is currently being fitted on the individual floors.

The extension of the council chamber towards Berliner Platz is also visibly progressing. The chamber has been opened up and stripped back to its load-bearing concrete elements, meaning the space now opens out towards Berliner Platz. Once the extension is complete, the two exposed pillars will stand inside the chamber. The steel structure in front, which extends the chamber forwards in a 'drawer-like' manner, is expected to be erected before the end of this year.

The distinctive, listed corrugated metal façade, featuring the well-known lettering, was previously carefully dismantled and stored in a municipal warehouse. Over the coming months, it will be restored in accordance with conservation guidelines and then refitted faithfully to the original design on the new structure, supplemented by precisely fitted new components in the extended areas.