The pumping station is a former industrial structure and now a cultural center in Wilhelmshaven. The then head of the building department and current professor for architectural history, Ingo Sommer [1] saved it from demolition in 1975 and had the idea of redesigning it into a socio-cultural center. He also developed the concept, designs and renovation plans. It was completed in 1976 and variously expanded according to his plans.
The Pumpwerk is the oldest socio-cultural center in Lower Saxony and is one of the twelve founding members of the federal association "Sociocultural Centers e.V." In the early 1970s, the …