During the last 100 years, the river Volme had been deformed into an open drain, hidden behind industrial sheds and perverted with industrial waste waters. Perhaps exactly in spite of this, the city of Hagen decided to place the new town hall right on the banks of the river. This was the opportunity to make the river and its river banks an attractive space for the citizens of town. For the planers and designers, it was a first and symbolic step of the overall hydrological restoration of the river system.

In a swung movement, the new terrace edge curls and flows in parallel to the river. Wide and open steps bring visitors right down to the new gravel riverbank.

For Herbert Dreiseitl, the challenge was how to make the connection between the new town hall and the river visible. This was achieved through glass inlays set into the floor paving and leading to a water wall in the heart of the building. The water wall is made of coloured glass, water trickles in at the top and glides down to the bottom. Outside, a watercourse that receives water from the roof meanders from the new town hall down the cascade steps and into the Volme