Siedlung Schüngelberg is a miners’ housing estate in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, at the foot of the Rungenberg spoil heap. Its original houses were built from 1897 to 1919 for workers at the nearby Hugo colliery, under designs by colliery master builder Wilhelm Johow. The Harpener mining company, which had taken over shares in the Hugo colliery in 1896, was the original housing developer. 1
The estate reflects changing approaches to workers’ housing. Holthauser Straße included four-family houses arranged around a cross-shaped plan, while Gertrudstraße developed in a looser, garden-city-inspired pattern of detached, semi-detached and terraced homes, grouped with a gateway and small square. The original plan also included larger homes for officials and a ten-family house. A further expansion proposed in 1919 was not built at the time for financial reasons. 1
In the 1990s, the International Building Exhibition (IBA) Emscher Park revisited the expansion idea. The new section, designed by Swiss architect Rolf Keller, added around 200 homes for miners. The wider scheme included a square with a day-care centre and shops, routes and sightlines connecting the estate with the Rungenberg heap, and the natural redesign of the Lanferbach. At the same time, 310 existing homes were refurbished in accordance with heritage requirements. 1
The estate is notable for bringing together historic housing stock and later construction while retaining its connection to the colliery landscape. It is part of the Route Industriekultur. 1