The residential crown is a prototype of settlement 2.0. Rooftops of retail and office buildings, as well as parking garages, are activated, attractive locations are opened up, existing infrastructures are used more efficiently and the mixture of programs in the city centre is improved. The existing parking garage is complemented with penthouses as part of the renovation of the façade and entrance area. These residential units distinguish formally from the existing building structure and simultaneously give the building a harmonious completion.

Entrances and circulation of the building have been reorganized so that independent addresses for the car park and the residential building are clearly recognizable. The residential building is accessed (barrier-free) via a representative lobby on the ground floor with exclusive elevators that lead directly to the central, landscaped residential courtyard. The residential units are accessible from this common space. Each apartment (50 to 120m²) has a spacious, private terrace overlooking the rooftops of the city.

A listed villa of the 1850ties was converted into two family apartments. The large garden is used collectively. The 1st and 2nd floors were redesigned in relation to the needs of a couple with five children. Spaces „suitable for everyday use" are created and at the same time, the special character of the historic building with its ornamental elements and valuable wooden floors is strengthened.

To reestablish the former spaciousness a multitude of fixtures and walls were demolished. The roof was reconstructed according to current energetic standards. The first floor serves as an entrance area with a large hall leading to the kitchen and the balcony. The master bedroom and one kid's room are orientated to the garden. The former ballroom as the heart of the building is used as a dining and living room. The space has an impressive size (55m2, 6m high) and is decorated with an ornamental ceiling that was preserved and - where necessary - restored. A gallery is installed into the ballroom as a slender glass-steel-structure: The stairs are suspended from the gallery to keep the parquetry untouched. The second floor is reserved „for kids only" and features four rooms, a play hall, and a bathroom. The staircase between the two floors is enhanced in its spaciousness by opening up a part of the ceiling. All design and constructive measurements were undertaken in detailed consultation with the institution for historic preservation.

The residential complex AnA is situated close to the Student Village of Tirana University on a magnificent hillside. The oddly-shaped site starts with a narrow edge along the street and widens sloping down 15 meters of level difference. The building folds as a continuous figure, respecting all the necessary distances to the property line and on itself. This stepped form creates a local landmark with an identifiable skyline in a very heterogeneous context.

The site opens itself to allow a pedestrian connection between the student village and the northern areas. This passage enlivens the commercial ground floor and the compound piazettas. The cuts in building volume are a response to the urban regulations and a way to break down the overall massing into pieces more related to the human scale. The same 'cut' approach is used in order to provide light and natural ventilation for circulation spaces. The attic floor has setbacks in strategic locations of the building for best views from the terraces for the exquisite apartments. The materialization aims for an elegant appearance with differentiated materials and patterns but an overall clean white look: the plinth is of fair-faced concrete with a diamond-shaped relief, the body from white plaster, crowned by an attic floor clad in beveled tiles for a shimmering reflection of the strong Albanian sun.

The Rubber House as a price winning project in the Eenvoud/ Simplicity competition was selected to be built in Almere, Netherlands, as one of 12 experimental housing projects. In volume and style inspired by the simple and archetypal Dutch barn architecture the Rubberhouse forms a simple asymmetric double pitched roof inhabiting 2 storeys, in combination with a single pitch roof with one storey. The resource saving construction consists of massive wood panels from cross-laminated timber. The outer walls and the roof surface are clad with black EPDM foil. In contrast to that the atmosphere of the inside is characterized by the natural warm surface of the massive wooden walls. The utilization concept proposes small private rooms in favour of a generous open plan living area. Clear lines of sight through the entire building support the robust, open space sequence and allow visual connections into the adjacent forest. The living room can be expanded via the large sliding glass doors onto the terrace. The high degree of prefabrication allowed for a building period of only three months.

The project PELIKAN MIX4 is characterized by a variety of dwelling types according to urban lifestyles. Within an urban master plan four distinctive characteristics are developed:
A landscape tableau is the connecting element, forming an entrée for the private, semi-public and public spaces. Generous lobbies in each house compose a discrete identity and a space of encounters. A great flexibility in the floor plans allows a variety of different apartments in size and type. According to society demands, the types "wellness", "sustainable", "extravagant" and "comfortable" are developed. They differ in constellation of rooms, material, building equipment and the offer of outdoor spaces. So called "Glorietten" crown the buildings and optimize light, spatial peculiarity and views.

House 1 is the first built project of the masterplan 'mirror twins'. On top of a shared commercial ground floor a green link connects the site with the close-by park. The two seperate buildings connected by the common plinth are generating an enormous amount of requested square meters. Rather massive volumes are perforated by a series of programmatic voids that connect to a common circulation space, an inner void. The much needed public space is integrated into the building by creating a second entry level and reinterpreting the circulation space. The engraving appearance
of House 1 refers to the typical salient facades of Tirana. Multiple tilted strips create a rich play of light and shadow.

In the 14-month planning and realisation stage, a baroque hunting castle in Seesen was redeveloped with a focus on simplicity and clarity at a reasonable price. Also, the permanent exhibition of the museum was conceived and moved.

Central attention at the rebuilding work was the restoration of spatial relations and structures, as well as the creation of a high-quality, modern but timeless showroom, which is able to take on the various exhibits, including specialities such as 'The world's longest piano string. The exhibition has a modern pedagogical approach and offers attractions and information for all age groups. Additionally, the value was placed to increase children's participation through experimental- and multimedia stations. In this way the museum can be accessed by a variety of senses, understanding through seeing, hearing and touching.

A very special project in our portfolio is the Chalimbana Local Government (CLG) Training Institute in Chalimbana, Zambia as it can be seen as a good example of a passive and self-sufficient city. The aim of the masterplan was to increase the quality of life of both students and academic staff of the Institute, to structure the campus for the long term, and to provide the grounds with a clear, recognizable identity.

Low-tech in construction but high-tech in designing, we created a plan that included everything needed for an autarchic project. In a very sustainable manner, we used the excavated soil to press it into bricks contributing to the buildings being passively cooled and heated. To achieve that we mainly used the sun energy. From a special angle and material of the roofs to the orientation of all buildings to strictly East-West, with the main facades (North & South) avoiding the low angles of the sun, CLG Training Institute became an eco-friendly vision made into reality. Also, we made sure that the rainwater and the cleaned sewage can drain into the groundwater locally, granting a precise water cycle.

The existing road provides access to the campus by car. Simultaneously, a new main route for pedestrian connections is established as the new 'heart' of the campus. It runs between the mostly residential area on the North and the educational program on the South side of the grounds. These two clusters - housing and education - at the two opposite ends of the campus are surrounded by the lecturers' houses, and by leisure activities. By closing off some of the student housing blocks, small neighbourhoods are created, with inner gardens and courtyards providing atmospheric living quarters.

This urban design aims to create an attractive living environment for young families and couples and to give a new impulse to a large social housing estate from the 1960s. The existing open block structure will be maintained but is transformed into a structure with semi-private courtyards.

Different typologies - i.e. houses with ground-level access, apartments with open floor plans - add variation to the housing supply. Within the building blocks, elevated courtyards create a safe environment for social interaction between inhabitants, especially young families. Notwithstanding their open character, these courtyards offer a clear visual and functional border between public and private spaces.

Between the blocks, a sequence of car-free squares that draw on the surrounding structure contributes to a lively public space. To keep spaces as car-free as possible, most of the parking is organized in underground garages which are accessible from the edges of the block. By drawing on the existing structure, and by continuing the green belts and the existing rows of trees, the design creates a strong link with its surroundings.

The new residential neighbourhood Hilligenwöhren is located on the threshold of a compact city to open landscape in Bothfeld. A composition of three- to four-storey buildings generates two courtyards with different spatial qualities. The norther green courtyards are the new neighbourhood's intimate centre, whereas the southern courtyard opens up to the street and hence to the neighbourhood.

The buildings are connected via access balconies which activate the courtyards and are the basis for a vivid community. The central community room for all residents connects the two green spaces. It is the neighbourhood's living room. By opening and widening spaces, informal meeting points and social contact surfaces are offered. The building structure enables a flexible arrangement of various residential typologies und therefore a social mixture.

A solid structure for the development of a long-lasting neighbourhood is offered. Furthermore, natural building materials ensure comfortable and healthy living environments.

When designing the Durres Beach Hotel in Golem, Albania, CITYFÖRSTER faced the challenge of creating quality within an unpromising context. Golem, a popular beach resort, enjoys a prime location on the sea and is set in a mountainous landscape. However, the village has suffered from uncontrolled development, resulting in a sprawling blanket of buildings. The site for the new hotel is located in the third row from the beach and faces a highway on the other side.

On the other hand, the site boasts a beautiful forest of mature Mediterranean pine trees and forms an anchor to a potential urban plaza in the south. In order to overcome the challenges, we designed a building rooted in the Modernist tradition, a compact building-block surrounded by greenery. This layout provides the entire building with light, air and space, and secludes the rooms on lower floors from their direct surroundings. An elevated roof garden compensates for the footprint and adds to the overall quality of the new hotel.

All rooms have highly finished interiors, as well as balconies offering different views – either towards the sea, towards the mountains, or towards the trees. Each balcony is cladded in natural stone from different regions in Albania, which creates a distinct rhythm in the façade. The west façade corresponds to the adjacent buildings, whilst the east façade follows the patterns of trees. The end result is a positive eyecatcher, clearly visible from the highway and the sea.