Seelhorst is a 1960s linear housing estate on the outskirts of Hanover. The residential ensemble developed by Gundlach comprises 130 apartments in 11 buildings and is characterised by a woodland-like atmosphere, which is currently disrupted by sealed parking areas and garage structures. The project aims to energetically modernise the existing buildings, create additional housing and at the same time preserve the green identity of the neighbourhood. Cost-efficient, climate-friendly measures secure long-term affordable housing and counteract gentrification. Implementation takes place in phases while the buildings remain occupied.

Densification is achieved through vertical extension. The existing settlement and building typology, generous green spaces and the characteristic tree stock are preserved. Previously unused attic spaces are dismantled and replaced by shallow-pitched, asymmetrical gable roofs. The extension integrates seamlessly into the existing building structure and, together with the refurbished façades, forms a coherent new architectural unit. The overall urban appearance is maintained.

The buildings are extended by one additional storey using fast, low-noise timber construction, creating 50 to 60 new apartments. Structural loads are transferred into the existing building framework, avoiding major interventions in the original structure. The new roof surfaces are largely covered with photovoltaic modules. A prefabricated balcony structure extends the living spaces and significantly improves the quality of the existing apartments. The façades are upgraded with biogenic cellulose blow-in insulation, while the balcony structures are designed as steel constructions.

Overall energy demand is significantly reduced. Space heating is provided by air-to-water heat pumps, while domestic hot water is supplied via electric instantaneous water heaters.

The new apartments introduce a diverse housing mix and respond to demographic change. In parallel, open spaces are upgraded and a future-oriented mobility concept is integrated. Existing trees are preserved, sealed surfaces are removed, and additional planting improves the microclimate, stormwater retention and biodiversity.

Lagodekhi Protected Areas (LPA) in the extreme north-eastern part of Georgia at the southern slopes of the Caucasus and with altitudes from 590 to 3500 m, is one of the world's best-preserved areas with diversity of natural landscapes. The project of developing a TreeTop Trail as a new touristic product is to attract more visitors and, considering the transboundary potential of the LPA, make it one of the most attractive destinations, to be included in future transboundary ecotourism products.

The concept emphasizes the forest as the protagonist and proposes a minimalistic design, a circular shaped trail that gradually ascends towads the tree canopies. Additional program is added in order to enhance the experience of forest. This includes a watch tower, a dome, a large net, a cave, and multiple platforms.

VEEDL4 creates a vibrant piece of city: dense, diverse, and well connected. Open spaces, buildings, living, and working are closely intertwined, forming a strong whole centered around community. Many amenities are shared, distances are short, and daily life can be organized locally. At the same time, the surrounding neighborhood benefits from new connections, public spaces, and shared facilities.

The design consciously builds on the existing site. A distinctive high-rise element at the entrance on Brühler Straße combines key functions such as daycare, healthcare services, and local retail. Behind it, the neighborhood opens up with the preserved existing building, the VEEDL Café, and the lively central space known as the VEEDLHerz. More quietly positioned is the residential courtyard, offering a protected retreat for residents.

A continuous green corridor links all parts of the development and connects it to the surrounding area. The VEEDL Park, the lively center, the green pathway, and the quiet courtyard together create a diverse network of open spaces. New pedestrian routes improve connections to schools, public transport stops, and adjacent residential neighborhoods. Trees, green areas, and permeable surfaces also improve the local climate and support on-site rainwater infiltration.

Living and working are closely connected. Spaces for healthcare, crafts, small businesses, and creative work are combined with a variety of housing types. The compact apartments are complemented by shared amenities, creating more space for everyone without consuming additional land.

The district is designed primarily for people: everyday journeys can be made on foot or by bicycle, while car traffic is reduced and efficiently organized. The buildings are simple, flexible, and adaptable to future needs.

The Rákosrendező Masterplan is a transformative 244-hectare brownfield redevelopment in the heart of Budapest, including a 148-hectare action area, redefining one of Europe's most significant urban regeneration sites.

In collaboration with Coldefy, Treibhaus, Spora Architects, and Markó & Placemakers, the project was awarded First Prize in an international competition commissioned by the Budapest Capital Asset Management Centre on behalf of the Municipality of Budapest.
The proposal introduces over 10,000 new homes alongside commercial, civic, and recreational spaces, all structured around the principles of the 15-minute city. At its core lies the existing railway landscape, reimagined as a defining spatial framework that supports mobility, long-distance views, and a network of public parks. This backbone is complemented by a system of interconnected green and blue corridors, enhancing ecological performance while creating attractive, accessible public spaces.
The new district is organised into six distinct neighborhoods, each with its own identity and local centre, anchored by a central mobility hub around a new train station. This structure enables flexibility, accommodating diverse lifestyles, household types, and future urban dynamics. A strong emphasis is placed on high-quality public space, with a sequence of key green areas- including a railway park, the large forest park, and a sports park- linked by a continuous north–south green axis.
The plan will convert the long-neglected railway area on the Pest side, over the next 15 years, into a European benchmark of sustainability- lively, mixed-used and landscape-driven.

As the entrance to Stuttgart's new main station, the A3 development site plays a special role in the urban fabric. In a location that, more than almost any other, symbolises transformation and public consultation processes, the open public competition 'Raum für Ideen' (Space for Ideas) highlighted what is missing from the future city centre: a consumption-free, weather-protected yet open space for the urban community.
With the O.A.S.E., we propose a social innovation hub here as public-benefit-oriented infrastructure – an Open Appropriation and Social Development Space that functions as a climatic and social oasis.
The reused supporting structure of the historic station canopy provides an overarching framework, beneath which a permeable fabric of open space and buildings emerges. In this sheltered interior, leisure and activity converge: people can simply be here, strike up conversations, initiate projects, develop them further together and test them in practice. Workshops, open learning and exchange spaces, as well as venues for display and presentation, intertwine to make social issues visible and negotiable.
This creates a new urban space that not only offers shelter and a pleasant environment, but also acts as a catalyst for exchange, participation and collective action, and supplements the city centre with a public infrastructure that has been lacking until now.

The new Elisabeth-Aue neighborhood combines a high proportion of modular housing units with a diverse urban structure. It is based on a flexible framework that, through its spatial and landscape design, creates diverse, climate-adapted spaces offering a high quality of life. The central "Elisabeth-Meile" with tram access structures the neighborhood in a north-south direction, while two green-and-blue open-space axes running east-west integrate the surrounding landscape areas and create additional structure.

A total of approximately 5,000 residential units will be created, predominantly in 5–6-story buildings with select architectural accents. Generous building plots with unpaved, green courtyards, as well as complementary building types and mixed-use developments, ensure a diverse range of housing options. The center, featuring a neighborhood square, local amenities, commercial space (approx. 30,000 m² gross floor area), mobility options, and social facilities, forms the vibrant heart of the district.

The open space concept aims to create a climate-adapted urban space with a low degree of paving (approx. 30%) and multifunctional green spaces for rainwater management, biodiversity, and recreation. Overall, the result is a sustainable, resilient neighborhood that serves as a model.

With the design for a new residential area in Nad Kamínkou, we see development not merely as the provision of housing, but as a catalyst for the sustainable transformation of the entire neighbourhood. Our aim is to convert what is currently a car-oriented and fragmented site into a vibrant, green and excellently connected district that brings together the urban energy of Prague and the landscape and scenic qualities of Zbraslav, serving as a role model for future neighbourhood developments.
The masterplan combines the potential of the busy Elišky-Přemyslovny Street with the extensive, green Borovičky Park. At the western entrance to the neighbourhood, a mobility hub serves as a clear landmark with a lively public square, making a strong urban statement. It enables convenient transfers between car, bus, bicycle and pedestrian traffic and marks the transition to a lowtraffic residential environment. To the east, the park forms a green counterpole with generous areas for nature, sports and recreation.
The neighbourhood mediates both spatially and functionally between these two poles, balancing urban intensity and landscape openness while offering a careful interplay of privacy and permeability. Three green axes structure the area: a communal north axis with a square, orchard and gardens, a blue-green axis with visible rainwater management, and a green boulevard in the south. The architecture follows this logic: Terraced block structures define clear spatial boundaries and lively ground floor areas, while detached city villas create create a smooth transition to the park. Shared courtyards connect architecture and open space.

With the New Centre, Silberstedt is gaining a strong, identity-forming centre that reorganises public services and further develops the town from its existing stock. Education, health, culture, housing, utilities and mobility are spatially bundled and linked together via short distances. This creates a neighbourhood suitable for everyday use and suitable for all generations, bringing together the basic functions of village life at its core. The starting point is the careful conversion of a landmark building from 1886. Instead of new construction, the concept focuses on further building: existing structures are preserved, repurposed and activated with new functions. The community centre, village office and village canteen create space for clubs, work and encounters – resource-saving, economically efficient and firmly anchored in the history of the place. The existing buildings remain an anchor that creates identity and become the driving force behind development.

A clearly structured open space system unfolds between the village square and the village park. The square forms the urban stage for markets, festivals and exchanges, while the park, as a green centre, combines local recreation, play, sport and biodiversity. At the same time, it takes on a climate-adapted function as a retention area during heavy rainfall.

The centre is complemented by a community swimming pool, a cross-generational residential quarter and the upgrading of the school and kindergarten. Barrier-free paths, new bus stops, sharing services and bicycle parking spaces strengthen the sustainable mobility.

The Waldhäuser Ost housing estate, built in the 1970s, is undergoing comprehensive energy efficiency upgrades and careful redevelopment. The location of the building in an earthquake zone poses a particular challenge, as it does not allow for classic building extensions under normal static conditions. The necessary earthquake safety is therefore achieved through targeted measures to reinforce the building: Reinforcing balcony walls and additional northern extensions take on load-bearing functions and at the same time enable the creation of additional living space.

Two of the three building sections will be extended using lightweight timber construction. This method reduces the dead weight of the structure while also meeting high standards of sustainability and cost-effectiveness. In order to retain the existing residents in the long term, the energy-efficient renovation of the facade will be deliberately limited to the necessary extent. Serially manufactured, recyclable components are used; openings and balconies are based on the existing building in terms of scale and appearance. In this way, structural improvements can be made without triggering a noticeable increase in rent.

The energy efficiency upgrade of the building envelope is combined with an extension of the balconies and a new, contemporary color and facade concept. In addition, northern extensions, additional stories, and the conversion of the existing ground floor and garden level apartments into maisonette apartments for large families will significantly expand and diversify the mix of apartments.

More generously designed outdoor seating areas and improved outdoor spaces also enhance the quality of life and strengthen the overall quality of living in the neighborhood.

The development vision transforms the former industrial site into an urban, mixed-use neighborhood. The proposal relies on clear spatial edges, strong address formation, and a carefully calibrated relationship between living, working, and public space. Distinctive building corners, a finely tuned grain, and a differentiated height profile create orientation and identity.

At its center lies a generous public playground that acts as the heart of the neighborhood, framed by active ground-floor uses. A continuous east–west connection strengthens links to the surrounding green corridors and introduces new addresses within the quarter. The courtyard structures draw inspiration from the characteristic Listhöfe, creating protected outdoor spaces for housing, childcare, and community uses.

The open space concept focuses on climate resilience, diverse planting, clear places to stay, and the option of a sponge-city approach. Flowering meadows, retention areas, and green facades support biodiversity and a pleasant microclimate.

The buildings draw on local typologies: office and commercial blocks with distinctive plinth zones, and residential buildings with colour-differentiated façades, dormers, loggias, and mansard roofs. Flexible floor plans allow long-term adaptability. An underground car park, bicycle hubs, and short distances support a car-free lifestyle. The result is a vibrant urban building block that brings together openness, diversity, and high-quality open spaces to form a clear and robust neighborhood.

Together with BOOM Landscape and in close collaboration with the Municipality of Prishtina, we're using Nature-Based Solutions to tackle urban flooding in Kosovo's capital. The project focuses on an 11-hectare vacant site on Prishtina's
northern edge. Here flows the Prishtina River, the only visible stretch within the city before it disappears underground. Until the late 1940s, Prishtina sat between two rivers: the Vellusha and the Prishtina. In the 1950s–70s, these rivers
were buried, and by the 1980s, Prishtina had no visible rivers. This site is the last open stretch—a rare glimpse of the city's natural heritage.

Today, the area faces challenges: illegal dumping, flooding, and a lack of public spaces and infrastructure. Our role has been to support the municipality in defining the project scope, designing a concept masterplan, and assessing
feasibility.

Our vision? To transform this neglected land into the Wild Botanical River Park—a resilient, multifunctional landscape that restores natural water flows, reduces flood risks, and revitalizes biodiversity. A new bypass channel will guide clean
water through the park, supported by wetlands and native plants that filter runoff and improve water quality. More than flood control, this project reconnects Prishtina to nature. It creates a green-blue corridor linking neighborhoods, offering
space to relax and explore.

The park is a living laboratory, using native plants to clean air, water, and soil while supporting research and education. The Wild River Park creates a vibrant ecological gateway—a bold step toward a greener, healthier, and more resilient
Prishtina.

Under the title 'Blankenburg Quartet', a new urban quarter is being created with four independent neighbourhoods that combine to form a diverse, communal and sustainable whole. The design further develops the plans for the circular city in the south of Blankenburg. Water cycles, biodiversity, microclimate, active mobility and diverse uses of open space form the basis of a resilient neighbourhood structure that gives equal consideration to social, ecological and economic aspects.

The neighbourhoods have different focuses in terms of landscape, mix of uses, public space and community infrastructure:

AuenKiez: Landscape-oriented residential quarter along the tram line, characterised by the Schmöckpfuhlgraben with retention areas and wetlands – a climate-adapted living environment.

WaldAllmende: Island neighbourhood with a school, sports hall, daycare centre, playgrounds and open spaces for residents, clubs and educational institutions. The adjacent forest remains a natural and recreational area.

ZenKiez: A combination of residential areas in the east and commercial courtyards in the west, combining work, everyday life and retreat, and integrating existing spiritual use.

Production triangle: Urban commerce with a circular hub at the heart of a resource-saving circular economy.

All neighbourhoods are connected via a common centre that serves as a social, cultural and functional meeting place. Existing paths and green corridors are continued, landscape structures are integrated and small-scale developments and green transition zones are used to mediate between them at the edges.

Sustainable and Community-Oriented Neighbourhood
The project is developing a sustainable, community-oriented and ecologically responsible residential neighbourhood. A central neighbourhood axis connects the neighbourhoods, provides recreational and play areas, and integrates climate-friendly elements such as trees, unsealed surfaces and rainwater management. Green courtyards structure the neighbourhood, promote biodiversity and create lively places for interaction.

Active Ground Floors and Building Types
The ground floors activate neighbourhood life with co-working spaces, workshops, guest apartments, a daycare centre, mobility services and small-scale commercial enterprises. Three building types – polygon, point and bar – enable diverse forms of living, clear orientation and serial, economical implementation. The project will be realised in four construction phases, integrating existing buildings.

Pilot Project for Circular Construction
The polygonal structure serves as a pilot project for circular construction. It is characterised by simple cubature, timber construction, biogenic insulation materials, low-tech building services, reduced spans and uniform grids. These principles ensure dismantlability, material efficiency, short construction times and cost advantages. The experience gained will form the basis for all subsequent construction phases.

Open Spaces and Climate Resilience
The open spaces are clearly structured and interconnected. Open courtyards, small neighbourhood squares and a car-free axis with play, sports and recreation areas ensure orientation, interaction and a high quality of life. Unsealed surfaces, climate-resilient vegetation, meadows and decentralised rainwater management create 'cool islands' and increase the climate resilience of the neighbourhood.

Diverse Housing Supply and New Identity
A total of around 440 residential units of various sizes and types are being built – from small flats to cluster and family flats. The mix of housing, community, social facilities and neighbourhood-friendly businesses creates a lively, sustainable and future-proof neighbourhood that is oriented towards the scale of the location and at the same time creates new identities.

The Kiosk project was developed in response to the removal of informal structures in Dhermi, a fast-growing tourist village on Albania's coast. With tourism rising, the need for organized, adaptable infrastructure became pressing.

The design focuses on sun protection, upper-level storage, and layout flexibility for various vendors. Modular and affordable, the kiosk is easy to build, dismantle, and relocate using local, climate-appropriate materials. Its defining feature; a tapered, canopy-box roof, opens for shade by day and closes for secure overnight storage. This dynamic element allows smooth transitions between active use and closure, aligning with daily commercial rhythms.

The open ground level supports multiple configurations, while design investment is concentrated in the expressive roof. Quick to assemble and season-ready, the kiosk offers a cost-effective, climate-responsive solution for small businesses.

The Kiosk was one of the pavilions displayed at the first editoin of Bread&Heat Festival, which took place in Tirana, Albania, in June 2025.

Integration and community
The starting point of the design is a coherent, compact structure that creates a clear urban figure that fits naturally into the logic of the master plan. The block structure creates a spacious, communal inner courtyard that is available to all residents. At the same time, the closed construction method achieves maximum structural noise protection.

Contextualization
The design defines a clear urban prelude on Dottendorfer Strasse: a six-storey building marks the entrance to the district. With its staggered heights towards the southern residential quarter, the building blends naturally into the scale of the surroundings. On the first floor, an open passageway connects the public street space with the quiet, green inner courtyard.

Framework and accentuation
The boulevard is emphasized by the positioning of the building and defined in terms of urban space. A clear edge is created towards Dottendorfer Strasse, which appropriately accompanies the main traffic axis. On the public square, the building makes an active contribution to programmatic revitalization with its mix of uses.

Modularity and right angles
The design consistently implements the principle of modularity. The use of prefabricated elements is optimized by avoiding special solutions, consistent orthogonality, high repetition rates and adherence to simple 90° geometries. The targeted resolution of the block at the corners avoids complex special solutions and creates ideal lighting conditions for each residential unit.

Housing mix & development
The design differentiates the distribution of the subsidized and privately financed apartments into independent building blocks. This creates a clear allocation, simplifies address formation and enables differentiated development. The floor plans follow a logical stacking pattern and make optimum use of the structural grid. Towards Dottendorfer Strasse, a glazed arcade provides the dual function of access and noise buffer.