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.

Sufficiency means shared luxury.

The "Tiny Living" building is part of our project ecovillage in Hanover. It is located at the transition between the centre and the Green Ring and forms the interface between the intimate neighbourhood and communal space with a high degree of publicity.

The L-shaped building consists of two stepped structures, which are accessed and connected via a generously usable arcade. On the one hand, the arcade enables a diverse exchange between the residents and, on the other hand, a very high degree of flexibility in the use of the building. Based on a grid, a wide variety of apartment sizes and forms of living can be offered and the living space can be adapted to future changing needs.

The main focus in the development of "Tiny Living" is residential use. This is supplemented by a shared bicycle and storage room, two laundry rooms, a common room and an experiment room for water use and food cultivation operated by the entire ecovillage with access to the adjacent aquaponics greenhouse.

Responsible use of building materials makes a significant contribution to the sustainability of the property. As early as the construction of the building, the conservation of natural resources is included through a design that is suitable for recycling. Through the targeted choice of materials and the possibility of a clean separation of the elements used, the amount of waste is reduced and the rate of reuse and recyclability increases. The greatest possible use of the renewable building material wood not only minimizes the CO2 emissions during the construction of the building but also serves as important CO2 storage.

With the development of our ecovillage project in Hanover, there is a great opportunity to make an important contribution to future-oriented urban development with a balanced triad of social, ecological and economic sustainability. Find out more here.

How can we transform vacant department stores in Germany and bring them to a new stage of life with new uses?

Hundreds of department stores stand empty in German city centers. At Hermannplatz in Berlin, an old Karstadt building could be redesigned. A new façade creates a strong face in the urban context and an invitation to a differentiated courtyard sequence, which was redesigned as a playful open space experience. Instead of shopping, living, working and community-oriented offerings now meet the needs of the growing urban society in the 21st century.

The existing Karstadt building provides valuable building materials that are deconstructed, recycled and reused. According to the layer principle, load-bearing and non-load-bearing components are structurally independent of each other. Thus, they can be used independently in their various life cycles.
A durable, urban façade forms the new face to the city and creates a gateway to the interior.

A varied sequence of courtyards accompanies the crossing and becomes an urban experience: the Werkhof with its lively hustle and bustle, the Green Heart as a central interface and at the same time as a place of retreat, and the city playground, which promotes interaction and participation. Flora and fauna form the connecting element of the spatial sequence within the courtyard structure up to the roof terraces.

The proposal for the revitalization of Königstrasse 1ab is based on the following 5 guiding design themes:

Development of a building structure that completes the ensemble of the hotel and Königsstraße 1c, which incorporates heights and gradations, creates addresses and forms the prelude to Königstraße through its orientation towards the train station.

Creation of lively, green passages with small-scale retail, gastronomy and areas for culture and events in the interior of the ensemble and a generous setback on Königstraße to provide more space for planting and passers-by.

Enabling maximum exchange between inside and outside through diverse and generous entrances and transparent façades.

Creating modern retail, office and restaurant layouts that can react flexibly to changing future requirements.

Reuse of the existing load-bearing structure and individual components to minimize energy consumption and thus reduce CO2 emissions.

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 existing U-Hall is the heart of the BUGA. A green ring floats above it as a landmark visible from afar.
It is a living sculpture that stands for sustainable recycling management, the willingness to experiment and a spirit of optimism.

This circularly conceived tree hall, brought into the vertical, is not only part of the exhibition, but also a break in the tour and a place for the best views over the entire site. The tree house, built from recycled building materials, provides a habitat for flora and fauna, exhibition opportunities for field research and allows views of the solar power plant on the U-hall. Thus the ring is the central location of the U-Hall. This is where the tours and guided tours start, where people meet and where smaller and larger events take place.

striking gate + green neighbourhood

The area at the Waldwiesenkreisel forms an important, previously misused entrance to Kiel city centre. With the development of the property, there is now a great opportunity to formulate a distinctive entrance to the city and to create urgently needed, high-quality living and working space.

By shielding the street noise, a quiet, green residential area is created inside the building complex, which brings the lush, northern open space into the quarter through its open design. This creates a green gem with its own identity in a heterogeneous urban environment.

The structural composition and the landscape-architectural interventions of the mixed-used "Kieler Knick" create a concise design language. The courtyard and the roof terraces are open-space extensions of the building and form an urban meeting point for workers, residents and visitors. Based on the diverse spatial program, places of encounter and exchange are created, as well as space for retreat and peace. The interplay of the dense trees and green roofs creates a particularly pleasant climatic situation in the quarter. In dialogue with the different types of living, a wide range of open spaces is created for shared and private use.

Additionally, Mobility is entirely geared towards the environmental network. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic are prioritized with different concepts. All necessary parking spaces for the MIT (tenants and visitors) are organized in the two separate underground garages. There are charging stations for e-vehicles as well as possible car-sharing offers in the direct vicinity of the development cores.

With the new building respectively renovation, IGS (Integrated Comprehensive School) Langenhagen is changing from a school location with many buildings and addresses, separate uses and not barrier-free routes to an inclusive landscape of shared learning in close contact with the city and nature. Learning clusters with classrooms, differentiation areas and mixed-use recreation areas are organized around a central common centre and thus offer a variety of places to learn, linger, communicate and relax.

The new school building is located at an urban node. While the south is characterized by loose and urban development and large-scale centre functions, the north is a green recreational area with old trees, green meadows and biotopes close to the water. The new structure mediates between these two worlds and creates a clear, urban address in the south as well as a central schoolyard in the north, which turns into a landscape park.

Together with the existing cafeteria, the school building takes up a clear and public space. This is the place to arrive and linger for students, teachers and visitors. Supported by the large terrace of the cafeteria, this creates a lively space. The square is in close spatial connection with the newly designed bus stop, the bicycle parking spaces and the town hall square on the opposite side of the street. In the north, the structure interlocks carefully with the school park. Between the new building and the refurbished creative pavilion, there is a lively, enclosed, green break room, which connects the existing buildings (sports halls and creative pavilion) in an east-west direction. The compact building cubature maximizes the preservation of the existing trees and minimizes surface sealing.

The building is designed as a wood-concrete hybrid construction. Optimal sun and glare protection while maximizing the use of daylight is guaranteed by blinds that align automatically depending on the amount of sunlight.

The Guggenheim will access the richness of Nordic culture and open a door towards the East of Europe. Helsinki gets the opportunity to integrate a site with landmark potentials into the heart of the City: Reachable for pedestrians from Eteläesplanadi, adjacent to Tahititornin Vuori Park, and neighbouring Olympia Terminal, the site will be a new Connecter within the city.

The urban design introduces a plinth to meet the challenges and foster the potentials of the site: It connects the park with the waterfront via a pedestrian bridge crossing Laivasillankatu. Pedestrians from Eteläesplanadi are directed towards the site via a stage and a grand ramp with seating – here the exhibition begins! A civic space of great quality for tourists and residents to gather and socialize. At the same time, the plinth covers the port vehicles access, ensuring undisturbed port operations. Above the Plinth and the Forum "flys" a wooden box. Its height fits into the surroundings and allows great views. The slim shape and horizontal gesture enhance the character of the site at the waterfront: a subtle yet genuine new element of Helsinki's cityscape.

The Martin Luther School is an upper secondary school with a special focus on musical education. It houses about 1600 pupils. The extension of the existing building became necessary to adapt to contemporary didactic concepts and to allow for all-day care. It contains classrooms, a natural science block, music rooms, a canteen and a gymnasium.

The design translates the demands concerning resource efficiency and preservation in a sensual and sensible manner. The main climatic feature of the building is the shape of the building itself: So-called solar chimneys foster natural ventilation by stack effect and become a significant formal element. The expressive roofscape also em­phasizes places inside the building – large roof lights extend the space upwards and provide particular light. During school hours these areas are open spaces to be appropriated by different age groups for independent learning. The building is conceived as a timber frame structure with a larch-wood cladding.

"... In the front the Baltic Sea, in the back the Friedrichstraße ..." In the EuroCity Berlin one can come close to this ideal. The design combines an urban block typology with a distinctively shaped bar - " the Wolkenbügel". Its shape is characterized by a large void. This wide passage connects the block via the neighbourhood square with the waterfront and at the same time the waterfront with the city.

The void forms a partially covered urban stage for public uses such as weekly market, game or sport and thus a lively place along the promenade. The block is orientated to a central courtyard, which is connected to the neighbourhood square. The block is divided into ten different houses whose building height of seven floors decreases stepwise to five. All roofs are used as terraces. According to the different housing typologies and sizes, the widths of the houses vary as well. The houses are also distinguished in terms of facade rhythm and materiality.