Decision for Implementation Competition “Residential Living in the Kronsrode-Süd Neighborhood, Building Plot C1, Hannover”
The 1st prize of the implementation competition goes to Prasch Buken Partner Architects BDA.
Urban Planning Concept
Following the volumes of the surrounding block development, we have decided to open the building towards the city to the south, creating a welcoming entrance for the neighborhood. The separation of the building volumes ensures porosity, diversity, open sightlines for a future-oriented community, southern light exposure, natural ventilation, and acclimatization of the inner courtyard and thus the apartments. Simultaneously, it enables more efficient floor plans. According to the jury, these are “well-structured and feature advantageous room sizes.”
The communal rooftop terraces are situated at the stairwells. These are demarcated from the street by a perforated brick wall, preserving the facade’s visual edge while providing residents a window onto the city in a protected area.
Facade & Materiality
The facade exhibits a calm composition that spans all sides of the buildings. The readability of individual units is achieved through subtle and finely articulated variations in the brick facade, maintaining its overall coherence. The grid pattern differentiates only in the grout color from the rest of the brick facade. The corner buildings at the southern building opening extend the brick facade deep into the inner courtyard, transitioning to a pleasant change in materiality to wood. The wooden facade enlivens and revitalizes the courtyard, lending it a distinct and intimate character for communal use, also symbolizing timber construction by projecting the wooden structure outward. It takes the concept of calm composition and translates it into a projected wooden framework supporting balconies and enabling vertical and suspended garden structures.
The building is designed in a hybrid construction method, aiming to maximize the strengths of different building materials and use them strategically. The lower levels and stabilizing stairwell cores are made of reinforced concrete. The ceilings are hybrid wood-concrete decks for sound and fire protection reasons, while non-load-bearing elements are made of wood.
Usage Concept
Subsidized and market-rate apartments as well as senior apartments are mixed throughout the building complex. This achieves social diversity benefiting all. All stairwells provide barrier-free access to the inner courtyard, making communal areas accessible and usable for everyone. In total, there are 89 residential units in the building, with 31% being subsidized housing and 69% being market-rate apartments.
