• Direct commission expert survey for densivication of social housing estates
  • Monheim am Rhein, Germany
  • Monheim Municipality
  • 5ha
  • completed, 2016
  • 1555-MON
  • urban design
  • Markus Ruediger, Kristaps Kleinbergs

Open Neighbourhoods

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.

  • Direct commission expert survey for densivication of social housing estates
  • Monheim am Rhein, Germany
  • Monheim Municipality
  • 5ha
  • completed, 2016
  • 1555-MON
  • urban design
  • Markus Ruediger, Kristaps Kleinbergs