ul class="overview_list " id="projectList">

  • Gymnasium Lutherschule

    The draft envisages an extension of the Lutherschule through a powerful and independent structure, which fits into the existing block structure and self-confidently positions itself to the Engelbosteler Damm.
    The five-storey building forms in a modern and contemporary architectural language a clearly perceptible address while radiating openness and transparency. At the same time, the indented ground floor facade with its striking brick arches creates a spacious and covered entrance area.


    The central organizational idea is the clustering and self-evident stacking of the different areas of use:
    The communal areas are located on the ground floor, the creative areas on the 1st floor, the natural sciences on the 2nd floor and the grade clusters on the two upper floors. As in the floors below, the classrooms are grouped around a central communication zone that creates additional learning venues with niches and open areas.

     

    Idea
    2018
    30167 Hanover
    Hannover

  • 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

  • Orange Headquarters Mali

    Bamako is in a phase of rapid urban development, with the population growing expansively; telecommunications are an integral part of this growth and are a marker for upward social mobility. The height, visibility, and clean volume of the new Orange Mali Headquarters express this situation, thus creating a landmark for the new, mobile urban class.

    At the same time, the building sets the bar for offices and urban planning in Bamako, by creating a zero-energy building that incorporates greenery and improves the working environment of the Orange employees. The new Orange HQ is surrounded by a public garden, a layout that makes the office building more accessible and simultaneously creates a social space for gatherings and events. The green spaces continue into the interior of the new office building as a sequence of open terraces. By using 'stacked' office floors, and by interspacing these with high-quality open spaces, employees feel more connected and floorplans can be optimized.

    The iconic, geometrical 'zig-zag' exterior is the result of a smart and site-specific design, avoiding direct sunlight on the facade.

    in progress
    2019
    Bamako
    Mali

  • Water town Limmer - Individual living in a friendly neighbourhood

    The design for the JAWA forms an identity-creating neighbourhood that does justice to the self-imposed goals of socially and ecologically sustainable urban development. In terms of urban development and design, the ensemble fits into the Wasserstadt Limmer and, at the same time, enables a wide range of individual living and community wishes.

    The ensemble is open to the public, can be used in a variety of ways and is therefore lively due to an "open space shelf" with small and large balconies, loggias, planters, etc. Individual living requirements from small apartments with and without a patio to terraced houses or spacious family apartments come together as a clear volume and are characterized by a uniform design.

    The communal inner courtyard will be greened naturally. At its heart, there are a variety of community offerings: a large courtyard terrace for parties and events, an area for urban gardening with a barbecue area and a long table for eating together. There is also a spacious play area in the northern part of the courtyard. Sustainable construction protects the resources of future generations. Both the passive house standard and the Schottenbau grid optimized for timber construction contribute to this. In addition, the compact construction volume minimizes energy consumption.

    The maximum utilization of the possible construction volume guarantees an economical undertaking and reduces the community costs to be allocated. As a result, more apartments are created for people who can participate and contribute to the JAWA building community.

    Idea
    2021
    Limmer
    Germany

  • Dhermi Plaza Hotel

    The Dhermi Plaza Hotel has been designed as a 5-star hotel along Dhermi's promenade. The project optimizes the square meters available within the plot whilst merging with the context, and offers publically accessible facilities.

    Its elongated volume is situated ideally between the beach to the south and the mountains to the north and is characterized by a dynamic facade. The shading system, composed of double-facing sliding shutters, plays with the shadows created by the thin walls. This creates a sense of movement, and reveals the life inside the building, making the hotel guests the 'accomplices' of the architecture.

    The hotel hosts different functions which can be separated if necessary, such as the restaurant, spa, and beauty salon on the -1 floor level;5 shops, a pool bar, a swimming pool, a bar, and the hotel lobby on the ground floor level; and an array of variously sized rooms on the first, second and third floor. The top floor has been designed as an active neighborhood/village, with various leisure facilities for both adults and children. It stands out from the rhythm of the facade and offers the guests panoramic views The hotel grounds have been designed so as to offer a range of different sports activities, from swimming in the 25 m pool to playing basketball on the shaded field.

    in progress
    2018
    Dhermi Beach, 1001, Dhërmi, Albania
    Dhermi
    Albania

  • Facade renewal high-rise building of the Leibniz University Hanover

    The Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) is planning to renovate the facade of the high-rise building at Appelstraße 9A. With a height of almost 70m, the high-rise is a landmark in Hanover's urban space. Comparable to the main building Welfenschloss and the Conti high-rise, it is one of the main addresses of the LUH. Both buildings are characterised by a high degree of plasticity and a warm, sandy-golden colour. The facade design for the Appelstraße high-rise building takes up these characteristics and formulates an independent, future-oriented design on this basis. By layering the building components, the new façade of the high-rise building experiences a high degree of plasticity and depth. All components receive a warm, sandy-golden materiality - from the aluminium pilaster strips and cornices to the matt glass of the balustrades to the pixelated PV modules and the sun protection. A surrounding wooden bench in the interior and exterior space offers an area for informal learning, dialogue, waiting, resting and enlivens the entire ground floor zone. The "media storey", which extends beyond the attic, radiates messages such as the typical binary code of Leibniz, visible from afar as a light installation.

    Idea
    2019
    Appelstraße 9A
    30159 Hanover
    Germany

  • Humboldtblock

    The Humboldt Block combines existing and new buildings to create a new productive quarter with a character know for Berlin, connects on many levels with its surrounding and can respond flexible on future challenges. The urban design aims to connect the area wit its surrounding - on one side the Humboldthain as an important open space, on the other side with the adjacent areas and institutions of the technology park.

    The structural setting completes the perimeter development of the building block along Gustav-Meyer-Allee. Existing and new buildings merge to form a quarter with a strong character, creating an outside view typical for the location. The part on Gustav-Meyer-Allee with its public first floor areas form the showcase, representing the new quarter. In the center of the Humboldt Block, a sequence of squares is created to connect the entrances of the new and old buildings. Those buildings face each other and form a common public space.

    The development is divided into nine north-south oriented strips of buildings, some of which are grouped together by internal courtyards. The main internal development for delivery traffic divides the resulting building strips in an east-west direction. The permeable building structure opens generously to the Humboldthain and links the quarter with its surroundings. The main thoroughfare is aligned with the two existing crosswalks of the block.

    completed
    2022
    Berlin
    Germany

  • District Centre Mastbrook

    The urban concept is based on a compact building envelope positioned on the plot, creating multifarious open public spaces for various outdoor use. The compact volume is achieved by stacking the program: The space-centred gym is located on the first floor, the community centre with its open, active and animating facades is based on ground level. Emerging from its program, the building volume is shaped with several recesses and kerfs.

    The entrances to the different functions are visualized by cut-outs of the volume. The building attains efficiency by layering functions and multiple-shift usage. The structure consists of a mix of reinforced concrete on the base and prefabricated cross-laminated timber on the upper storey. On the ground level, the facades are designed with large glazing elements and fibre-cement coated with colourful patterns. The facades of the gym are clad with black, large scale trapezoidal sheetings. Translucent façade areas from polycarbonate panels stretch around the upper corners, in order to give further differentiation to the building volume and embed it in the surrounding scale.

    Idea
    2014
    Ostlandstr.44
    24768 Rendsburg
    Germany

  • Pavillion Days Korça

    Upside Down, Downside Up!

    For the 8th sculpture Symposium (2017), Korça Municipality invited a selected group of architects, together with sculptors, to create temporary pavilions triggering the revitalisation of public spaces.

    By inverting an abstract tree, Shu-Wei Chang, the sculptor, worked with the concept of 'roots-seeking'. The branches now grow towards the underground, recollecting the past, possibly finding some sort of lost identity. The proposition of this pavilion plays with this concept. A mirror that "returns" the sculpture to the "natural position" resulting in the viewer being inverted in relation to the surroundings. The structure, a form of a house, is stripped to its fundamentals. The materials choice (lumber and scrap wood) was intended to create a sustainable low-cost proposition while withstanding the time and made use of the limited availability of materials locally. Exploring further the 'back to the roots' concept, a traditional hanged Albanian carpet became the "soil" in which the tree seeks aliment. The pans (used to cook Korça typical meatballs) were positioned like flowers on a prairie. In conclusion, we aim to provoke a reflection of traditions as our identity ground in contemporary life.

    completed
    2017
    Korça
    Albania

  • De Dorpse Flat

    social, cosy, flexible
    living circularly in de Waalsprong

    For the Waalsprong quarter in Nijmegen, CITYFÖRSTER created a design for 70 social rental homes. The skyrocketing housing shortage is linked directly to the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. Seeing the potential of new social housing, we focused on high density, flexibility and low-tech design solutions to propose a circular construction.

    A large main volume adjacent to a large sports hall is combined with smaller building volumes facing the park: An exciting combination with a high density of housing that still retains the community feeling of a small-scale, cosy neighbourhood.

    The various buildings, terraces, squares and apartments are connected by a network of stairs and bridges with a central lift core in the main volume, which invites you to explore, exchange and interact.

    The main volume and the smaller buildings are built from the same modular wooden elements, allowing the constructions to be disassembled and reused at the end of their lifespan. The floor plan of all apartments can be arranged flexibly. The units can be joined together so that the new development can easily adapt to changing housing demands without high costs or complicated interventions.

    Low-tech design solutions such as an awning, conservatories and solar chimneys ensure low energy consumption and reduce material use. Other installations are set up as demountable modules to round off the circularity concept.

    completed
    2020
    Nijmegen
    The Netherlands

  • Karstadt Recycling

    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.

    Idea
    2022

  • Office Building. New Lands Commission

    The design for the landmark building of 5.500sqm, housing the New Lands Commission, will be a symbol of the new spirit of transparency and efficiency, bringing together the currently dispersed Land Sector Agencies. The building has an important symbolic impact due to the recent nationwide establishment of the land registry and is to represent a new All-Ghanaian identity. The design responds to local climatic and social parameters throughout all scales.

    All design elements, from the urban setting out to the building's shape and its materialization aim towards natural and sustainable performance, fulfilling several functions at the same time. The circulation system forms the core of the building, spiralling upwards between two rings of offices on different levels. By breaking the clear separation between floors this system provides a continuous movement, bringing the NLC together on one continuous floor, with a variety of perspectives in and throughout the building. The parametric design of the outer appearance of the building guarantees functional performance whilst allowing for aesthetic variation. The diamond-shaped bamboo panels all follow the lowest sun-angle providing shade and filtered natural light at the same time.

    in progress
    2010-2015
    Ghana Survey School, Achimota Rd
    1757 Accra
    Ghana

  • Embassy Residences

    How to organize attractive family living and low energy housing in a high-density city center?

    Our award-winning design for the Embassy Residences in Albania provides high-quality, family-friendly, and low-energy housing units in the city center of Tirana, one of the fastest-growing cities in Europe.

    The project responds to the mayor's ambition to limit the growth of the city and to counter sub-urban developments with a more diverse range of housing typologies. On top of a commercial plinth and two parking levels rises a series of stacked villas, connected by a semi-public stair. This serves as alternative circulation and additional, shared informal outside space to the apartments. 



    The floorplans protect the privacy of the apartments but allow residents to sit on their porch or use the staircase to access their apartment when in the mood for a chat or a Friday afternoon drink. Research has led to a compact build-up of irrigated substrate layers that can support rich vegetation on the stair, balconies, and roof terraces.

    The facade consists of two layers arranged according to insolation. A basic glass layer is protected by a secondary shading layer of anodized aluminum where it is not protected by surrounding buildings or cantilevering volumes. This results in high transparency on the one and low energy costs on the other hand in addition to preventing the building from the hot Mediterranean sun whilst still guaranteeing an elegant look.

    under construction
    2018
    Rruga Asim Zeneli, Tirana, Albania
    8303 Tirana
    Albania

  • Drymades Village

    Located in Drymades beach, the holiday resort Drymades Village is composed of a series of stepped courtyards framed by architecture blending the project into a cohesive village feeling. Following the topography with a 15-meter height difference, the architecture articulates the ground levels to the stepped courtyards bringing an introverted feeling, while on the three upper floors, the units incorporate extended terraces and balconies, expanding the public life to all the levels.

    Typologically the villas are approached by the study of the predominant architecture of the location and the aim to find a different output to a resort project where individualization breaks a monotonous design. The iconic image of the Mediterranean villages will be communicated in the architecture with pre-determined elements, such as roofs and facades that compose a catalogue to personalize the villas. Mainly three differently sized units form the masterplan varying from studio units to large family units. They can also be joined horizontally and vertically, widening the possibilities for future owners.

    In total, six plazas are interlaced to each other, forming a large interior courtyard that articulates the private with the public space through openings in the architecture. Located at different heights and alternating one to the other, they open up the views of the seafront and offer a range of activities to the visitors. The main approach for the landscape is to keep as much as possible existing vegetation. The landscape changes its composition from a dense forest in the lowest part of the plot to an urban plaza in the highest part. Native species (cypress and olive trees), and plants with low maintenance (Bougainvillea, Cacti), constitute the selected vegetation.

    in progress
    Drymades
    Albania

  • TreeTop Trail Lagodekhi

    Lagodekhi Protected Areas (LPA) in the extreme north-eastern part of Georgia at the southern slopes of the Caucasus and with altitudes from 590 to 3500 m, is one of the world's best-preserved areas with diversity of natural landscapes. The project of developing a TreeTop Trail as a new touristic product is to attract more visitors and, considering the transboundary potential of the LPA, make it one of the most attractive destinations, to be included in future transboundary ecotourism products.

    The concept emphasizes the forest as the protagonist and proposes a minimalistic design, a circular shaped trail that gradually ascends towads the tree canopies. Additional program is added in order to enhance the experience of forest. This includes a watch tower, a dome, a large net, a cave, and multiple platforms.

    in progress
    building permission 2019
    15 კოსტავა ქ., Lagodekhi, Georgië
    Lagodekhi
    Georgia