Integrated Design Project Report by Filip Fichtel

Integrated Design Project Report

Table of Content Introduction

6Editorial Essay

Revitalizing a Historic Downtown Back to the Future?

8Project Proposal

Why Landshut Landshuter Hochzeit Design Challanges Design Intentions Project Mission Relation in a bigger Scope

Research

14Sustainable Living

...does that mean living less?

18Case Studies

Apartment- & Trade Ensemble Restoration & New Construction New Construction of Attict Sustainable MixedUsed District VM Houses

28Climate Research

Data Interpretation

Schematic Design

Design Development

Final Project

32Site Analysis

Elements City Organism Site Scope Urban Live Site Views

36Project Program 37Schematic Proposal

Massing Layout Orientation Facade Experiments

Introd 4

duction Editorial Essay

Revitalizing a Historic Downtown Back to the Future?

Project Proposal

Time Line Why Landshut Landshuter Hochzeit Design Challanges Design Intentions Project Mission Relation in a bigger Scope

he introduction part of this booklet contains the Editorial Essay, an eloquent, passionate, and poetic exploration of some issues pertinent to the project and the Project Proposal; the proposal sets the context of the project by describing the background and history. It shows relevance to the world, society, the local community, and myself. It introduces my design philosophy and parameters for the project and anything else that I deem important. 5

Revitalizing a Historic Downtown - Back to the Future?

hat is it that gives places their individua qualities and defines the life of a city? Architects and urbanists are accustomed to describing and creating the organizational structures, the layouts and physical attributes of our cities. But what are the relations between the design of a city – its form and the life engendered by that form? A desire for urbanity, personality and identification has always been a major factor in inspiriting urban design. Historic cities like Landshut have their own specific features and a physically powerful relationship to history and context, so in order to design successfully designers need to consider this relationship wisely, while at the same time have the design open for current and future needs. The city is remarkable for various reasons, the foundation by the Wittelsbach dynasty, the gothic cathedrals next to the first renaissance palest north of the Alps, but all these historic facts are quasi-only triggers that encourage the appreciation; they describe the essence of the city only superficially. If you take a closer look around, when you walk through the streets and alleys – because old cities were designed for pedestrians – the hidden elements that define this extraordinary city reveal themselves and we can feel them.

Although renaissance, baroque, classicism and art nouveau dominate the facades of the city, Landshut is still referred to as the gothic city, because the road building lines and regularities of the gothic art of city planning were considered till the 19th century; This city is classic example of gothic architecture; but why is it important that we understand this unique gothic city organism? We have to understand it because the demand for “modernity” without considering the historic context, destroys the sensible balance of streets and spaces, cubic capacity, propor-

tions and relation between city quarters to each other. In order to design within this context one has to understand what a city like this meant to the people, and still does today, maybe today more than ever, since the modern city planning rarely accomplishes what we ultimately are longing for: true comfort. So the question is where and why do these old urban spaces exude that kind of charisma that is pleasant to us; that we desire, consciously or unconsciously. Might the methods/devices of the gothic city-planning-art be the only ones, in whose conception we can breathe and live, because this gothic city-creations breathe and live themselves? The challenge to design within a historic context is something that architects do not only face with historic cities, but (if they want to design effectively) with every city, every city has its own relationship with history and context, some more then others. And architects need to respond to that relationship, because as we all know the monotonous new city that was designed without considering this relationships, and designed on a rectangular drawing board leads to dissatisfaction and frustration of the citizens and most importantly it is responsible for the citizenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disinterest on the urban life.

Project Proposal: Why Landshut?

andshut was founded in 1204 by Duke Louis 1st. It was founded as many other cities, because of its practical location right next to a river and a main connecting street for trade. As we all know wherever there was trade going on, robberies happened, so the founding of Landshut had to do with the fact that the castle was built. In 1255 when Bavaria split, Landshut became the capital of Lower Bavaria. The next big step for the city was the wedding of Duke Georg with the Polish Princess Jadwiga Jagiellon in 1475. It was celebrated in Landshut with one of the most splendid festivals of the Middle Ages. This was such an important event that the city reacts this wedding every 4 years, what is a big spectacle. Just like Munich, Landshut owes its importance to the Wittelsbach dynasty: In 1204 the city was founded next to the river, protected from the castle; that gave the city its name. It was a great location, with the transition over the river of the most important road in east Bavaria – ideal conditions for a trading center and a duke’s residence. As earlier mentioned a lot of influencing dukes resided here until Landshut had to take the back seat in favor of Munich. But exactly this stepping back happened to turn out as a piece of good fortune - it is the reason why this unique city organism survived almost undamaged: The regularities of medieval architecture stayed effective till the end of the baroque area. Even interventions in the late 19th century barely interfered the gothic appearance. Why is that important? Because the demand for “modernity” without considering the historic context, destroys the sensible balance of streets and spaces, cubic capacity, proportions and relation between city quarters to each other. The structure of this city creates that kind of comfort, that many of our cities these days are lacking. So we should do everything to keep it that way.

Project Proposal: Landshuter Hochzeit

he Landshut Wedding is the largest historical festivals in Europe. Countless visitors from all over the world took part, or have been spectators of the “Landshuter Hochzeit” in 1475. More than 3,000 participants in medieval costumes bring the festival to life to recreate the Late Middle Ages. It commemorates the wedding between Hedwig, the Polish King’s daughter, and George, the son of the Duke of Landshut. Why is that important for my project? The main part of this festival that is held every for years for four weeks is the parade on Sunday afternoon, that’s when all 3,000 participant parade through the main street back and forth (top Photo). There are stands for visitors and all the windows facing the streets are packed. People are sitting everywhere to watch this spectacle (middle Photo). So you can say that the buildings on those streets where the parade passes become part of this festival and since the site that was chosen is on such a street that certainly is a big design challenge.

Project Proposal: Challanges Intentions & Mission

he city is a classic example of gothic architecture, so the town council is very strict when it comes to building new buildings anywhere close to the city center. This causes several housing related problems; many families do not want to live in the city any more, because no parking garages, elevators or other convenient modern inventions are allowed in the downtown center. So the main design challenge that architects face is how to design contemporary living conditions in a historic gothic city. Is it possible to improve the living conditions to a more appropriate standard without destroying the medieval cityscape? And on top of that think about incorporate sustainable design strategies, things like solar panels or wind turbines are not an option.

he design intention of this project is figuring out a way to design contemporary living conditions in a historic gothic city. Design a project that acknowledges the past while still moving forward. And not by designing kitsch constructions where we try to mimic what has been built in the past, instead designing a modern architectural language that acknowledges the past while still moving forward. Because we live in a modern area and not in the past, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why I also intent to equip the building with sustainable strategies. That fits perfectly into the scheme of the design, the city has been around for over 800 years, so lets design something that lasts...

The Mission of this project is to create a Mixed Use development with appropriate living standards without spoiling the medieval cityscape, but not do with kitsch constructions where we try to mimic the past, instead designing a modern architectural language that acknowledges the past while still moving forward. We live in a modern area and not in the past.

Project Proposal: Relation in a bigger Scope

hat is it that gives places their indiviual qualities and defines the life of a city? Architects and urbanists are have to know how to describe and create the organizational structures, the layouts and physical attributes of our cities. But what are the relations between the design of a city â&#x20AC;&#x201C; its form- and the life engendered by that form? A design like this has to have its own specific features and a relationship to history and context, while at the same time being open to current and future needs. This is nothing that is limited to this project in Landshut, this project will deal with a lot of issues and elements that we can find in every grown city, of course in different variations. And I would even go a step further and say that we can apply those things to cities that are not that old; because as we all know the monotonous new city that was designed on a rectangular drawing board leads to dissatisfaction and frustration of the citizens and most importantly it is responsible for the citizentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disinterest on the urban life.

The consideration of human scale and the consideration of the spiritual-mental human needs could be the solution to our urban planning dilemma

Re 12

esearch Sustainable Living

...does that mean living less?

Case Studies

Apartment- & Trade Ensemble Restoration & New Construction New Construction of Attict Sustainable MixedUsed District VM Houses

Climate Research Climate Data

Interpretation of Data

This chapter contains an essay that deals with the current architectural dilemma in city planning, housing problems and the question how we can design sustainable without having to renounce appropriate living standards. Furthermore this section has a detailed analysis exploring buildings and projects that can serve as an exemplar or inspiration for this graduate project. At the end of the research part in this book I will show and evaluate some climate data about Landshut. 13

Sustainable Living ...does that mean living less?

e lay claim on more and more space and by doing that we undermine ecological goals. It is time for the opposite: a culture of ecological living. The dissolution of boundaries was one of the biggest architectural and urban-planning concerns of modernism. In apartments the rooms supposed to expand and flow into each other; the transition to the outside should be visually imperceptible and outside of the apartment the city was supposed to form a perfect continuum with the landscape. As we know today, this dissolution of boundaries has led too much ecological sorrow. All the big private rooms want to be heated, illuminated, and often cooled. The old bungalows with floor-to-ceiling windows heat not only the interior but the garden and the entire earth as well. In the neither urban nor green suburbs everything is far away, only the car is not. All urban planners agree that this dissolution of boundaries was the main mistake of the 20th century. But architects on the other hand keep designing as is usual. Model in aesthetics and lifestyle is still the generous, wide and open. Responsible for that are certainly not only the architects, but also the building owners and their clients. But architects do not oppose much 14

against this. In many offices and design seminars there still is nostalgia for the early modernism. That is how many architects contribute to the fact that we live more and more spacious. Even in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s times where we are supposed to have a recession of new constructions, the average person adds 0.35 m2 (3,76 ft2). That sounds modest, but in the big scope that means every year a new Frankfurt, or more realistically every year 700 new towns and villages for 1 000 people. Denser cities with less people Now the new buildings might be better insulated and more efficient heated, sometimes photovoltaic even add energy in from the roof. But most buildings built these days are nevertheless in the red when it comes to energy efficiency, especially if you include the expenses for construction. And it does not replace the old, but is an addition. In any case the new is additional energy consumption. Direct and even more indirect: Our cities do not only expend, but also thin out. The distances become longer and longer, the grids more spread out. Also the infrastructure is more and more scattered and needs

GREEN LOOPS CITY BY ADEPT ARCHITECTS: The municipality of Hengyang, Hunan Province, China, chose ADEPT as winners of the planning competition of the 17KM2 site of Laiyan New Town and Binjian District in Hengyang.

space and energy. Realizing social, economical or energetic combined systems, neighborhoodand accommodation-systems is becoming more difficult. So you can say that the architecture without boundaries is the enemy of the concerted urbanism. Although today’s architecture mainly serves the densification and downtown development; and that is of course better than dispersal and scattering. And the today’s architecture produces inner-city-humans that mostly reside on less space than people living in suburbia. But even architectural densification can lead decreasing demographic: If we rebuilt empty fabric buildings to loft apartments, then single living people move out of their 100 m2 apartments into the 200 m2 halls. And while an empty site is in filled the last family with 3 children moved out of that area; instead couples and singles move in. And in the end the area is denser developed and thinner populated. So we can build as sustainable and as environment friendly as we want, it is useless, if we at the same time live bigger. The fact that sustainability and large-scale living are combinable is our biggest life-lie. We can only do one or the other; so if we want do live sustainable, we have to limit ourselves when it comes to living. So how do we achieve that? Not with moral appeals, and neither with forced administration like they did in former East Germany. The answer to this is certainly not an easy one, but let me try to make a suggestion: Tax on land and buildings is too low and it is calculated old timey, so it does not work. A housing costs fee could be oriented on the real or the fictional or on the living area per capita. For bigger living areas could be strained and for smaller areas (out of the same pot) helped with credit items or such. On that note would also need ‘buffers’ or compensations for unsocial occurrences. 15

Sustainable Living ...does that mean living less?

Aidi Su from ADEPT says: “Much of Hengyang’s cultural and natural resources are still very much intact when compared to other Chinese cities facing rapid urban development. This is an incredible opportunity for us to make a difference in Chinese cities.”

Spacious Living? Decadent like Louis XIV of France I admit that sounds pretty threatening, but it should tackle worse things. Most threatening would this be for the architects. Less living would mean less constructing, at least less new constructions. That is a dilemma for an entire profession: On the one hand the architect wants and has to live off building and constructing, on the other hand he knows best what his excesses bring about, and even reclaims more insight. If you look at the German federal architect association that put the slogans “rationality for the world” and “we want the future-capable city, that saves through a reasonable densification of areas” in their manifest. That makes all perfect sense, but how do you nurse and at the same time build? The German professional practice gives a pretty good answer to that, by having more than half of all building incorporates building construction within existing fabric. Architects and urban planners can give an even more fitting answer to this, by only caring for the positive aspects that the eschewal of large areas definitely has. Every once in a while you find this as a topic in architectural magazines; but then you mostly will find them propagate attempts that want to avoid economic area use with the old dissolution of boundaries. You might also read quite often about an example where somebody designed a 5-story 70m2 apartment on a 20m2 plot; and then later you will hear something like “… but this design demands a lot of tolerance and consideration from the entire family…”. So what that means, or what they want to bring to our mind is that because we live less we torture our family, wife and kids?! Dissolution of boundaries is great for newly enamored couples but soon ground for divorce. We need the opposite: architects have to cherish those limitations and develop them.

Also small rooms have its advantages. Many utilization needs are easier satisfiable than in large rooms: The needs for protection, safety, clarity, personal controllability and (thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something we all want) coziness. On top of that there are more banal things: the smaller, the easier to pay, to heat, and to clean. Now I am not denying that we do not have space-saving apartments, but if we look at the ones we have, they are questionable quality housing projects for lower class or students. There is a lot to do for architects. If we take it seriously with sustainability, then we have to devote our focus to the question what we can do with the clumsy limited and wastefully escalated buildings of the modern days. That would give a lot of work to the architecture profession; if we then build new buildings, then ones with small rooms and in high quality. And this would easily solve the just mentioned dilemma (and might reverse it to the point that architects would have too much work) We have to bring the broad public to the point that we want small-efficient housing, especially in towns and cities where we can not afford to waste space like in Landshut, and that we put large-scale-space-consumers mentally and socially together with Louis XIV of France: His castle halls are beautiful to look at, but they have fallen out of time, remote from everyday life and unsocial. Restrict rather than dissolve the boundaries. If this becomes the guiding theme of our profession then everything is possible simultaneously: Propagate sustainability, building and ensure the own existence.

Case Studies - Apartment- and Trade Ensemble Project: Apartment- and Trade ensemble, Marienstraße 11 Location: Berlin GERMANY Scope: Blueprint – Construction Management Commissioner: Albion Grundstücksgesellschaft/Hachmann GmbH, Hamburg – Berlin

cope Description: The site that is listed on a historic register and it consists of a classic arrangement of Berlin plot plan: Front-building, side-wing and transept. All three buildings have been refurbished and rebuilt. The five story remise house has been consequently been adapted to the needs of its user from the computer branch, with adjusted interpretation of the different stories, especially in the living and chill-out apartment in the 5th story and in the attic story. From the attic story you have a free view towards the Reichstag, the chancellery building, that is in the immediate neighborhood and the zoo. The flats in the front-building were also adapted especially to the individual needs of the new owners, rebuild and furnished. The main-feature is the big, south facing panorama-window. This window characterizes both the exterior and the interior. It is becomes an iconic feature from the outside and also defines the unusual two story attic, the flat was organized ‘around’ this window. Also called ‘sun-trap’ the window lets the sun penetrate deep into the apartment. Facts: Real Estate Space: 763 m2 Living Space: 801 m2 – 8 flats (27 - 150 m2) Costs: Real Estate 389 000 € Apartments 757 676 € Constructions: Wood/Reinforced Concrete Built from 2001-2005 18

Case Studies - Restoration and new Construction Project: Restoration and new construction of the attic Location: Berlin GERMANY Scope: Blueprint - building permit - Construction Management Commissioner: Carolin Heldmann

cope Description: The back-and-forth with the authority for the protection of monuments about the appearance of the outer façade and the roof was tedious. The windows facing the street in the roof-area are in alignment with the existing windows; other openings were simply closed up. The old cornice underneath the lowest window row was rebuilt. Also the windows in the façade facing the gardens had to have the same rhythm of the existing windows. The building on the Lottumstraße 21 was build in 1886. The building (only the front building) has 4 stories with a raised ground floor and a new built attic. Within the site there is a garden with a courtyard. The façade of the building is protected as a historic monument. The building from the GDR times, has been part of the REKO movement, that means the existing building stock does not match the historic plans. The new building added a new flat with kitchen-livingroom, bedrooms, two rooms for kids, a studio and two baths. Above the staircase you will find a roofgarden. The organization of the floorplan was highly influenced by the fantastic views on Berlin, Berlin-Middle with Alexanderplatz, the Berlin Dome and so forth. That was also the reason why the livingrooms are oriented south. Color- and material concept: The ‘dematerializing’ of the walls into purely color areas helped the rooms to unfold. Simply natural-wood-windows and the plastered staircase wall bring ‘natural’ contrast to the desired ‘artificiality’.The roof-design maximizes the incident of light, via south-oriented, 10 feet high terrace glazing and the skylight. 20

Case Studies - New Construction of Attic Project: Apartment- and Trade ensemble, new construction of the attic Location: Prenzlauer-Berg GERMANY Scope: Blueprint – Construction Management - Planning Commissioner: Albion Grundstücksgesellschaft/Hachmann GmbH, Hamburg – Berlin

cope Description: The apartments are strictly designed to get the maximum of silence, usage and functionality; to achieve that that the cardinal directions, the street directions and the views influenced the design deeply. Fire escape regulations created a big problem and changed the floor plans. All the apartments had to be oriented to the main street so that they were accessible by the firefighters. This influenced the floor plan design in a unique way. Now all the apartments are unique and all apartments are provided with individual qualities A main feature is the double mono-pitch-roof, that allows in the middle of the roof area a shed-like skylight, which supplies the living rooms also in the dark middle zones with daylight. Like that also the inner bathrooms can be supplied with daylight and ventilated.

Facts: Living Space: 450 m2 – 4 flats (90 – 120 - 150 m2) Costs: Apartments 567 500 € Constructions: Wood/Reinforced Concrete Built from 2002 - 2003 22

Case Studies - Sustainable Mixed-Use Community Design Competition: Maxwan Architects + Urbanists

cope Description: This project shows plans for a new industrial, leisure and housing community that will be constructed by sustainable building practices. The challenge for the architects is to retain the qualities of the existing area while creating a new one. The design team proposes to make the entire site feel natural and provide links to the river way via intense swaths of raw nature. This green grid forms a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mondrian meets Pollackâ&#x20AC;? grid, where large scale street network runs through the industrial area and transitions to a pastoral riverfront residential area. This transition is embraced by integrating gradient of building types from southwestern big box industrial area to a small scale residential area towards the northeastern side. It provides a variation in housing and open spaces on the site to encourage ecological richness and a socially sustainable community. The design shifts the main street from the southern, traffic-intense border to the core of the site. The main street will host the highest density residential, mixed with shops, which will extend east towards other sports and leisure activities. Inspired by current green houses on site, the development will incorporate a living machine technology, capitalizing on the siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s existing fertile soils. 24

Case Studies - VM Houses Architects: BIG + JDS = PLOT Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Comissioner: Hopfner A/S, Dansk Olie Kompagni A/S Total Area: 25000 m2 Program: 230 Apartments Built in 2004 – 2005

cope Description: The VM Houses are two residential blocks formed as the letters V and M. The blocks are formed as such to allow for daylight, privacy and views. The vis-à-vis with the neighbour is eliminated by pushing the slab in its centre, ensuring diagonal views to the vast and open, surrounding fields. All apartments have a double-height space to the north and wide panoramic views to the south. The logic of the diagonal slab utilized in the V house is broken down in smaller portions for the MW house. In this project, the typology of the Unite d’ Habitation of Le Corbusier is reinterpreted and improved; the central corridors are short and receive light from both ends, like bullet holes penetrating the building. The VM Houses offer more than 80 different apartment types that are programmatically flexible and open to the individual needs of contemporary life – a mosaic of different life forms. If people are different then why are all apartments alike?

Climate Research - Data & Interpretation

Temperature Range

Wind Wheel

Sky-Cover Range

Ground Temperature

Dry-Bulb Temperature

Precipitation

andshut, GERMANY has a moderate climate with an average teperature of 8,5 째C per year and an annual precipitation of 824 mm. The city is in the moderate climate zone with a continental character. The climate is in the humid range all year long. The temperature ranges from -1째C in January to 19째C average in July. The average precipitation of 824 mm is in comparison to other cities in Bavaria rather high, but the perception in southern Bavaria increase towards the alps; for example the average perception in Regensburg (north of Landshut) is only 630mm, whereas in the closer to the alps located Rosenheim 1075mm. The month with the most rain is July, more than 100mm come down in this month, whereas only 43mm come down in February. Due to the moderate climate and the pretty consistent rainfall, plants would grow really well, so green roof terraces, small parks would be a possible option. Although it is frequently cloudy, there are still enough clear days to allow photo voltaic panels to function, but in order to put those on the roof, the approve of the city council is needed first. The frequently cloudy days also suggest the importance of letting in the winter sun in as much as possible; and from own experience living in Landshut I can say that you definitely want the southern windows exposed to the sun to let the sun in, in the summer it can become pretty warm, but you can always prevent the sun from coming in with exterior shading devices. 29

Schem

matic

Design Site Analysis

Elements City Organism Site Scope Urban Live Site Views

Project Program Schematic Proposal

Massing Layout Orientation Facade Experiments

n the schematic design process the integration of the research and writing that was done before and the initial design proposal begins. This initial schematic includes parti, placement options, and building massing options, spatial zoning options, and materiality options. In this part of the design process the design was enriched by citing context and history as well as my own philosophical position. 31

Site Analysis - Elements of the City Organism Elements of the City Organism: The city plan shows that the downtown is hardly defined by the two wide streets. If you look precisely the width of neither one of the two is continuous throughout. The widest street, trespassing the entire downtown is the ‘Altstadt’. This street is the oldest street of the city, built in multiple construction phases and surrounded by the most important public buildings. It used to be the main traffic street until in 2002 parts of this main street was transformed into a pedestrian zone. East of the ‘Altstadt’ runs a second also very wide street called ‘Neustadt’. This street was structured as part of the city extension. But it is lacking the immediate introduction in the traffic system. The street is only connected to the ‘Altstadt’ throughout multiple crossroads (in blue in the ‘Urban Live Diagram’). Thereby we can see that the ‘Neustadt’ could not have a special importance for the superior traffic, and never was meant to have one: In this street the weekly market was hosted (the socalled ‘Schranne’). Although the sweep of the ‘Altstadt’ is missing, there are subdivisions and shifting is clearly recognizable. The only architecturally dominants are the later built Jesuit church and the Ursulines church.

Site Scope Diagram

Site Analysis - Scope and Urban Live

Altstadt

Neustadt

Very Busy Moderately Busy Not Busy Site

Urban Live Diagram

Site Analysis Open Space Decrepit Buildings Possible Renovation

Site Scope

he site, located in the middle of the historic downtown, is one of the last free areas in the mid dle of Landshut, and that is where a new mixed-use building should be built. Besides multiple ecological reasons there are a lot of aesthetical ones as well. The plan is to build an apartment complex with different houses matching the existing buildings, but with more appropriate living standards. The site is enclosed by existing buildings; but luckily those buildings to the south are only three stories, allowing the sun to penetrate the entire site. Therefore the sun should be a major design factor, apartments should be flooded with sunlight.

Site without Decrepit Buildings

Site Analysis - Views

Aereal View of Landshut

he low buildings to the south have also other advantages; they allow great views towards St. Martins Cathedral and Trausniz Castle, the two major landmarks of the city. The amazing views, the central location of the site in combination with modern contemporary living conditions will create a perfect symbiosis of modernism and a time travel into the gothic area. Living, residing and working redefines itself throughout our live over and over again. The fruition of our own wishes and imagination needs its own place, where individuality, sensibility and living conditions are realizable. And the freedom for self-fulfillment can be found in this beautiful site.

Views towards St Martins and Trausniz Castle

Project Program

or the program I asked myself, how do we make the city attractive again, how can we make the city a home of their citizens? My answer would be to rethink the rules of the city council about garages and modern buildings in the downtown core, because in my opinion we can still keep the unity, the beautiful facades, while focusing on the neglected spaces; why should nott be there a subterranean garage under a modern housing complex between the two main streets, a housing complex with all the modern conveniences that our area offers? Since those features are in the neglected spaces, they would not take away from the classical medieval image of the city, but improve the livability of the city. -

Mixed Use (mainly residential)

Parking (underground)

- Restaurant

Incorporate existing buildings

Possible Restauration

Taking advantage of Site (Axis e.g.)

Schematic Proposal - Massing Renovation New Construction

proposed Renovation & New Construction

possible layout of the massing

Schematic Proposal - Massing

aereal view from ‘Neustadt’

he question that architects are facing when designing within a historic context is weather they should copy what has been build or try to come up with something new. The ‘excuse’ for copying the old is mostly “…we wanted the project to blend in with the context…”. I am not sure if that is the right approach or if it is just an anxious excuse. Of course we do want the design to stand in line with the surrounding buildings, but do we necessary have to copy them in order to do so? The site of this graduate thesis project offers a unique opportunity, because it is facing on the one end one of the main streets that shows off the city’s beautiful buildings facades, and on the other end the neglected spaces that are not in the best conditions, spaces that the city literally turned its back on.

street view from ‘Neustadt’

Schematic Proposal - Facade Experiences

view towards ‘St. Martin’s Cathedral’

So my suggestion would be to design something that does represent the past on one end and then transforms in something modern towards the other. Another approach would be to say that the architectural languages in the ‘Altstadt’ and ‘Neustadt’ range from gothic over art nouveau to renaissance and neither one is interfering with the overall gothic appearance of the city. So why not adding ‘modern architectural language’ to that list? There will always be people not liking it, but I am sure there were people disliking the first renaissance or art nouveau building in the city.

view towards ‘Heilig Geist Cathedral’

Bibliography