COOP District

Life in the district

The COOP district is investing, re-creating the heritage of the former Alsace COOP, with the main buildings conserved, restored, re-invented. The chosen architecture finds its inspiration in existing features and the distinctive identity of the site. The intangible heritage is reflected in the emphasis placed on an alternative approach to consumption and employment, based on local sourcing and short supply chains.

The site is designed to be a hive of economic activity, offering a wide range of services to businesses and their employees, mobile workers and the self-employed. Participants in the social and solidarity-based economy are united around the KaléidosCOOP project, a resource centre for the creation of new businesses and solidarity-based services. Rooms reserved for meetings or training, events and co-working spaces attract all kinds of activity.

Creative and cultural activities come up with myriad ways of experimenting and developing. Start-ups – MakerSpace and Fablab – equip entrepreneurs for designing their creations and developing prototypes. Studio workshops for artists and craftspeople bring the district alive, injecting a spirit of cultural creativity and openness.

The site explores new housing concepts including, for example, the delivery of unfinished lofts in the former COOP building. New residential projects with loggias or balconies will be built around public squares and shared gardens, including, in particular, the restored and rehabilitated Maison des Syndicats.

Inner courtyard in the Coop district. Credit: Studio Persevoir for Alexandre Chemetoff & associés
View of the Coop district. Credit: Acte2Paysage, DRLW et NUNC Architectes.
View of the Sérigraphie and La Place des Ouvrières by the Coopé from the Rue de la Coopérative (Credit: Lucquet Architectes)
Buildings, vegetation pictogram

1000

inhabitants

Pencil, model pictogram

1600

workers

Pencil, model pictogram

50 000 m²

of socio-cultural and economic activities

Buildings, vegetation pictogram

45 000 m²

of rehabilitated
buildings

Access and getting around

In the Coop district, like in the other districts, priority is given to pedestrians and cyclists, to ensuring the public space is a place for walking, playing, taking the air, enjoying each other’s company, and feeling safe.

The district is a grid of shared streets and avenues, where the open-sky water management and vegetation inject freshness and nature into the City.

Access to the district is easy via the vast network of cycle paths, Line D of the StarCoop-Petit Rhin tram, and Kehl-am-Rhein regional train station.

To reduce car traffic in the districts and encourage the use of alternative transport modes, parking facilities are concentrated in shared public carparks. Motorised residents, workers and visitors park in the Silo Coop public carpark at the entrance to the district, freeing the public space of parking spaces and traffic.

The district, its buildings, services and public spaces are also designed to be accessible to persons with impaired mobility: gentle ramps (<4%), public spaces all on one level, local services, short distances to the nearest tramstop, etc.

Map showing tram stops, transport hubs, and key locations in the 4 districts covered by the Deux-Rives project
Map showing tram stops, transport hubs, and key locations in the 4 districts covered by the Deux-Rives project

Before / After

Administration building with its bakery, before restoration. Credit: Arnaud Duboys Fresney
Drawing of the Administration building, after restoration. Credit: Alexandre Chemetoff
Drawing of the Administration building, after restoration. Credit: Alexandre Chemetoff
Administration building with its bakery, before restoration. Credit: Arnaud Duboys Fresney
Administration building, before restoration. Credit: Arnaud Duboys Fresney
Drawing of the Administration building, after restoration. Credit: Alexandre Chemetoff
Croquis de l'Administration après restauration. Crédits illustration : Alexandre Chemetoff
Administration building, before restoration. Credit: Arnaud Duboys Fresney
Atrium of the Administration building, before restoraton. Credits : Arnaud Duboys Fresney
Drawing of the atrium of the Administration building, after restoration. Credit: Alexandre Chemetoff
Drawing of the atrium of the Administration building, after restoration. Credit: Alexandre Chemetoff
Atrium of the Administration building, before restoraton. Credits : Arnaud Duboys Fresney

History of the district

Administration building at the beginning of the 20th century. Crédits photo : Vent d'Est
Period illustration showing an aerial view of the Coop headquarters.
Period illustration of the Cave à Vins winery.
Archive photo of the Coop buildings.
Archive photo of the inside of the Cave à Vins winery.

A cooperative spirit since 1902!

For more than 100 years a cooperative spirit has been alive on the site of the COOP. It was back in 1902 that a group of 125 workers first decided to found the “Konsumverein für Strassburg und Umgebung”, their aim being to purchase food wholesale and to distribute it at the fairest possible price.

Construction of the Alsace Coop headquarters began in 1911

In 1911, at the height of its growth, the COOP Alsace set up its headquarters at the Port du Rhin. It totalled more than 100 000 members and over 500 supermarkets throughout the Bas Rhin. It ceased its activity in 2015.

In 1952: 365 Coop shops in the Bas-Rhin

By 1932, there were some 136 branches of the Coop in the Bas-Rhin. The Union des Coopérateurs d’Alsace continued its expansion until all the other consumer cooperatives operating in the Bas-Rhin decided to join in 1952, bringing the total number of Coop shops in the Bas-Rhin to 365!

1954: the Union Sociale starts to take shape!

In 1954, to cope with its growing business, the company built a food warehouse which later came to be known as the “Union Sociale”.

1962 to 1964: construction of the Cave à Vins

The Coop commissioned the construction of the district’s most emblematic building, the Cave à Vins, where the Coop housed its bottling plant along with its wine filling tanks. When it was first built the Cave à Vins was considered one of the most modern wineries in Eastern France with its 35 000 hL capacity!

Let's talk about it!

Would you like to know more about the project and its 4 districts? If so, the Point Coop – Café Deux-Rives is the place for you, a mediation space where you will find a project model and an exhibition dedicated to the project, along with temporary exhibitions put on by key district stakeholders, and, the cherry on the cake, a visitors’ café! The Point Coop is open to visitors every Wednesday afternoon from 2 to 6 pm.

However, if the wait is too long, you can always get in touch by filling in the form below, and we shall do what we can to answer your questions as quickly as possible!

POINT COOP — CAFÉ DEUX-RIVES

18 rue du Port du Rhin
67000 Strasbourg
+33(0)3.68.00.19.

contact@spldeuxrives.eu

Learn more about the Point Coop  

OPENING HOURS

Wednesdays: 2 pm › 6 pm
18 rue du Port du Rhin

ACCESS

Tram D, Port du Rhin Tram Stop
N° 2 Bus Line, Coopérative Bus Stop

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