• Residential Crown Carpark Windmühlenstraße

    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.

    completed
    2015
    Windmühlenstraße 3
    30159 Hannover
    Germany
  • Family Villa

    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.

    completed
    2012
    Von-Alten-Allee
    30449 Hannover
    Germany
  • ANA Residences

    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.

    completed
    2013
    41.321,19.851
    1000 Tirana
    Albania
  • The Rubber House

    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.

    completed
    2011
    De Eenvoud 15
    1319 Almere
    Netherlands
  • Updating Nordweststadt

    Like many other residential schemes of the 1960s the Nordweststadt in Frankfurt requires an update of its building stock, a redesign that meets current and future demands of urban living. A set of transferable, integrative, and low-cost design measures is developed, focusing on three main tasks: Tidying up, the regeneration of neighbourhoods, and the strengthening of identity.

    Shrubs and trees are cut back, the parking is reorganized, pedestrian and cycle lanes are being introduced, new public spaces are designed and the courtyards are upgraded by private gardens, new public green amenity spaces and 'light pergolas' - a minimal architecture that connects basement parking with the courtyards and passes over into a podium with seating steps on ground level. The light pergolas enclose a small lounge, an external barbecue, water and electricity connections and a bicycle workshop. During evening hours and at night the pergolas illuminate the courtyard, by day these enable diverse and easy use of the courtyard and strengthen a lively community.

    completed
    2010-2014
    Gerhart-Hauptmann-Ring
    60439 Frankfurt on the Main
    Germany
  • Pelikan Mix⁴

    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.

    completed
    2016
    Günther-Wagner-Allee
    30177 Hannover
    Germany
  • TXL Restart. Integral Systems

    The airport Berlin Tegel is going to be closed down. TXL will be developed as a high-quality research, industry and business park with the profile of 'urban technologies'. A strategic master plan builds the foundation for a flexible - and therefore, robust - planning process. Developmental guidelines and a profound system of rules create a structural, programmatic and creative quality of strategic important subareas.

    Simultaneously, more flexible developmental options are being allocated for other areas. ‚Quarters' profiles' emphasize existing potentials of subareas and strengthen the specific identity. An integrated concept for energy and water supports sustainable development: biomass, geothermal energy, wind energy and photovoltaics provide regionally generated energy. Gray and rainwater is being collected, refined and reused regionally. An urban aerial railway connects the site with the station and the tram. Here, the aerial railway is not only an efficient, sustainable means of transport but also represents sustainable mobility in terms of the site's profile.

    completed
    2012
    Saatwinkler Damm 62
    13627 Berlin Tegel
    Germany
  • House 1

    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.

    completed
    2009
    Rruga Jordan Misja 20
    8303 Tirana
    Albania
  • Park City

    The project is located on the western outskirts of Tirana, an area which has seen major development in recent years due to its prime location close to the main entrance corridor to Albania's capital. With a total of approx. 400.000 m2 built floor area the new district will house approximately 7.000 inhabitants. It stretches between two large parks, whose conceptual design also formed part of the competition brief. Runway Park is a 1,1 km long former landing strip and Lana Park is an extension of the city's main green axis. The design proposes an urban layout that forms a hinge between these two parks, making them accessible, as well as connecting them, whilst strengthening the distinctively different character of both. The urban structure reflects a combination of three typologies: 4 storey stripes, 12 storey towers and 8 storey 'urban rocks'. The aim is to offer a broad variation of lifestyles, as opposed to the prevalent development paradigm of 9 storey broken perimeter blocks in Tirana.

    completed
    2009
    rruga Abedin Rexha nr 167, Tirana 1033, Albania
    1000 Tirana
    Albania
  • Steinway Museum

    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.

    completed
    2012
    Wilhelmsplatz 4
    38723 Seesen
    Germany