Wilo SE is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of pumps and pump systems, with over 100 years of history rooted in Dortmund, Germany. With around 9,000 employees across more than 60 countries, the company’s mission is to develop intelligent, energy-efficient water solutions. When Wilo consolidated its Dortmund operations into a single campus, landscape and sustainability became founding principles rather than afterthoughts. WKM Landschaftsarchitekten led the landscape design for the entire 19-hectare site, from early planning through completion in 2024.

An Integrated Spatial System

Architecture and landscape were conceived as a single, continuous system. Buildings, pathways, plazas, and open spaces form a coherent whole with a strong spatial identity. The main access unfolds along a tree-lined avenue leading to the Wiloop, the central plaza framed by four key buildings: the Factory, the Pioneer Cube, the EE Lab, and the Customer Interface. Designed as a place for encounter and pause, the Wiloop functions as the social heart of the campus. A large-format LED wall at the factory entrance marks the threshold to the World of Wilo with quiet confidence.

A Forest as Guiding Concept

The surrounding woodland and allotment gardens inspired the guiding idea of a continuous forest — a living matrix of diverse tree species with an understorey of perennials, grasses, and ferns woven across the site, from ground-level plazas to green roofs and planted façades.
On the central plaza, climate-resilient trees make seasonal change tangible. Dense perennial planting forms a sheltered backdrop, while a water feature introduces acoustic calm and improves the microclimate. A lily pond—like an eye to the sky—anchors the tranquil canteen garden, where a living wall of perennials shields the space from the nearby highway.
The rooftop garden atop the Customer Interface is conceived as an agora in the sky, framed by seating steps and intimate alcoves for gatherings and presentations. Canopy-shaped Zelkova trees create a sheltered, room-like atmosphere, underplanted with evergreen grasses and ferns. Facing the allotment gardens, the façade is softened by a living curtain of Russian vine and evergreen ivy.
A meadow of tall grasses and staghorn sumac encloses informal outdoor workspaces for collaboration and focused thinking. In front of the Health Centre, a grove of Japanese cherry trees, underplanted with alliums and colchicums, offers a contemplative retreat within the working day.

Sustainability by Design

Sustainability is embedded in the design, aligning with Wilo’s values. Green roofs and planted façades enhance the microclimate and provide habitats for flora and fauna. Permeable surfaces enable natural infiltration, while collected rainwater is reused for irrigation and technical purposes. Photovoltaic systems contribute to energy efficiency, and biodiversity is supported through on-site beekeeping and resilient, site-adapted planting. Permeable paving further reinforces water management, while a planted privacy and acoustic barrier wall protects outdoor spaces from the adjacent highway.

A Forward-Looking Model

Wilo Park demonstrates how landscape architecture, when integrated from the outset, can become the generative backbone of an entire campus. Rather than a finishing layer, it defines the spatial and ecological structure from which everything else evolves. On a post-industrial site in the Ruhr region, a forward-looking landscape has taken root.

Client: WILO SE
Office name: WKM Landschaftsarchitekten GmbH, designer Klaus Klein
Construction companies: Jakob Leonhards Söhne GmbH & Co. KG; Baugesellschaft Walter Hellmich GmbH
Foto credits: Ferdinand Graf von Luckner, Alex Mahling, Klaus Klein

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