22.10.2024

Circuit economy in the Wilhelmsburg town hall district

Building design

Climate adaptation, Competition, Landscape architecture, Sustainability, Urban planning

Circuit is a pilot project in Wilhelmsburg's town hall district. © Behnisch Architects | moka-studio

A collaborative workshop process was launched at the end of 2022 for building plots 14 and 15 in the Wilhelmsburger Rathausviertel urban development area. The focus of the designs was on the topic of circular economy. The 1st prize has now been awarded. Find out more here.

A collaborative workshop process was launched at the end of 2022 for building plots 14 and 15 in the Rathausviertel Wilhelmsburg urban development area. The focus of the designs was on the topic of circular economy. The 1st prize has now been awarded. Find out more here.

The urban development area Wilhelmsburger Rathausviertel is being built on a total of 32 hectares in Hamburg’s Wilhelmsburg district. Not only around 1,600 new residential units are planned here. Around 29,000 square meters of commercial space will also be found here in the future. There will also be public facilities such as sports units and daycare centers. This gigantic project is being made possible by the IBA Hamburg and the associated GmbH. This is because the planning company did not simply dissolve after the International Building Exhibition 2014 in the Hanseatic city, but continues to operate and has since been responsible for the planning and realization of ten new districts, among other things. These include the Wilhelmsburg town hall district. The design for this was provided by DeZwarteHond and RMP Stephan Lenzen Landschaftsarchitekten back in 2015, who won the urban and open space planning competition “Living for everyone – in the middle of Wilhelmsburg”.

They developed a new landscape axis with drainage ditches – the so-called wetters – that runs from the Inselpark to the Ernst August Canal. This green corridor is bordered by cycle paths and areas for strolling and lingering. In the future, the district will also offer a variety of housing options for people of all target and age groups, as well as architectural diversity. To this end, the building plots in the area vary in their extent and orientation. A collaborative workshop process on the topic of re-use and circularity was announced for building plots 14 and 15 at the end of 2022. With the help of two workshop dates, the invited participating offices developed structural engineering concepts for the site over two phases.

The aim was to accommodate different functions. In principle, the tender for the Wilhelmsburg town hall district envisaged mixed uses consisting of commercial, residential and public facilities such as a day care center. The two construction sites – site 14 in the north and site 15 in the south – are connected by an existing bridge structure. This structure was to be integrated into the overall concept. However, the aim was to integrate a meaningful, public-oriented use into the existing structure. In addition to these urban planning specifications, a key focus of the process was on development in the sense of a circular economy. To this end, the participating offices were able to use the IBA design guidelines as a guide. One office has now emerged as the winner from the intensive process. Behnisch Architekten from Munich/ Weimar, TREIBHAUS Landschaftsarchitektur from Berlin/Hamburg and knippershelbig and Transsolar Energietechnik GmbH were able to impress with their design. Sauerbruch Hutton and Jan Wiese Architekten – both from Berlin – took second and third place.

The pilot project in Hamburg is also part of the EU research project CIRCuIT. The four cities of Copenhagen, Hamburg, Helsinki and London have joined forces to provide innovative solutions for the circular transformation of their built environment. The desired turning point in construction is achieved, among other things, by involving partners from the entire value chain so that the results can flow directly back into it and knowledge is linked.

The winning design for the Wilhelmsburg town hall district is a pilot project for a new way of building – completely regenerative and resource-efficient thanks to circular synergies. To achieve this, Behnisch Architekten are focusing on new technologies, innovative materials and the use of renewable energies. All of this contributes to energy efficiency and the optimization of building services. The architects also focus on the entire life cycle of the buildings and their transformability. For example, the design provides for simple and flexible adjustment of apartment sizes by allowing units to be linked horizontally or vertically via connecting corridors without the need for conversion work. The design also takes into account the connection and separability of building materials and the handling of stock and leftovers. The joints allow the building to be dismantled and the individual parts reused. The basic idea was the principle of the building as a material store for the future. Like an organism, the building evolves with the needs of its inhabitants. Reduce, reuse and recycle are therefore more than just empty words in Behnisch Architekten’s design.

The open space also makes an essential contribution to the development of the sustainable district. Sealing is to be reduced on the site and natural spaces developed instead. The inner courtyards will not be underbuilt in order to guarantee tree plantings a location that can take root. The roofs and facades will be greened. A green step system with urban farming is also planned for the existing bridge. What’s more, it will become the “heart of the quarter” and initially serve as an information point and starter box for all developments in the quarter as well as an exhibition space for circular construction. Later on, it will be transformed into a meeting place for the community with a pergola, sanitary facilities and a kitchen. A green, playful topography is being created in the northern courtyard. Furthermore, corresponding open spaces are allocated to the daycare facilities on both construction sites. The design also provides for two smaller pocket parks on the southern construction site. Climate-adapted species are planned for the selection of plants in the area. Last but not least, the design also presents a concept for the design of the water cycles within the neighborhood.

The design for the Wilhelmsburg town hall district also focuses on sustainable mobility. To this end, each building will have attached bicycle parking spaces and infrastructure. The building plots are largely accessible on foot and directly connected to public transport by bus and train. This avoids individual traffic within the neighborhood. Instead, cars are directed from Mengestraße into a half-buried parking lane, which can be naturally lit and ventilated.

The Rathausviertel Wilhelmsburg project shows what attractive, adaptable architecture can look like. In addition to aesthetic and ecological aspects, the design also focuses on social aspects and the needs of the users. This could lead to greater acceptance and identification with the built environment. It will be exciting to see how the developers, architects and residents develop the pilot project further. It already impresses with its innovative approaches, which explore the possibilities of dismantling buildings to reuse materials. Sustainable construction of the future needs more concepts like this for dismantlable and flexible construction. Ultimately, ecology, economy and society will benefit equally.

Another exciting project from Hamburg, for example, is Kirchenpauerkai on the Elbe.

15.12.2024

Project

Viva la Piazza Zenetti

Building design

General

Since summer 2018, Piazza Zenetti in Munich has been an example of how a former parking lot can make neighbourly coexistence possible in a large city. Nevertheless, the planners responsible at raumzeug have to defend their project time and again.

Since summer 2018, Piazza Zenetti in Munich has been an example of how a rethought parking lot can make neighbourly coexistence possible in a large city. Nevertheless, the planners responsible at raumzeug have to defend their project time and again. G+L editor Theresa Ramisch presents the project here.

I always thought that the housing situation in Munich depended on how much money you had. But it’s actually a question of luck. At least if you believe the people of Munich. If you ask them where they live in the state capital, the classic answer is: “I was lucky.” Only after a meaningful pause is it revealed where the actual place of residence is. This is usually somewhere within or on the edge of the Mittlerer Ring. Well, or even in Großhadern. Happiness is subjective.
Yes, it takes a lot to find a suitable apartment in Munich. Money alone doesn’t always get you there. The pressure on space is enormous. So it’s no wonder that the financially weak creative scene in the Bavarian capital has little space left – for living and working. But also to initiate new projects. And this despite the fact that it offers so much potential for long-term urban development, as we discuss in the October 2019 issue of G+L.

But despite all these adversities, Munich’s creatives have managed to fight for a small inner-city area where creative bottom-up processes are once again possible. The Munich Schlachthofviertel. Here, players such as the Wanda e.V. association with Alte Utting or Bahnwärter Thiel are proving how creative projects can make a city like Munich – which is already considered to be highly liveable – even more attractive. What is special about the Schlachthofviertel, however, is that the Munich planning department is also jumping on the creative bandwagon that is currently thundering through the district. With the Piazza Zenetti.

Zenettiplatz led a dreary existence until the summer of 2018. There was no quality of stay here. Parking spaces defined the square. Nobody wanted to sit down and stay. But then, as part of the “City2share” project, the city invited tenders for the design of Zenettiplatz as a mobility station including a temporary neighborhood meeting place. The Munich office raumzeug was awarded the project and landscape architects Johann-Christian Hannemann and Felix Lüdicke developed a two-part square design, which is now – with further additions – in its second year.

The design

The southern area accommodates a wide range of mobility options with car-sharing parking spaces, e-charging stations and public transport bikes. The planners developed the northern area, which is part of the recreation and communication area, together with the residents in a needs analysis and a design concept. The result is a multifunctional, colorful square that is well received by the neighborhood.
An all-round, colorful piece of furniture – built as part of a participatory construction site – defines the spatial design. It encompasses the square and continues on the other side of the street, combining mobility with a place to stay. Six raised beds, a collection of potted plants and several rambling trees are responsible for the greenery on the otherwise very gray square.
In summer 2019, a carpet of grass was also added, which was only supposed to be here for two weeks. However, three dedicated neighborhood children campaigned to extend the lawn experiment over the entire summer – and beyond. The lawn is currently spending the winter at the neighbor’s, the Thiel railroad yard.

The use

The planners’ aim was to ensure that the square could be used for a variety of purposes. And they have achieved this. The surrounding (currently green) furniture can be used for sitting, working, but also for running around and playing. There is an information board, which acts as a bulletin board and reports on current activities in the piazza, as well as a book exchange shelf, a deposit niche, a swap board and lockable boxes for toys and tools. Simple, robust and functional – this triad best describes the character of the Piazza.

But wouldn’t parking spaces make more sense?

The planners actively involve the neighborhood with joint activities. One such campaign was the fountain experiment that took place in Piazza Zenetti in mid-July 2019. If you look at the pictures, it looks fun, doesn’t it? And it was. The sad thing is that not everyone is convinced by the fun. Even after two years – even shortly after such a successful event – Johann-Christian Hannemann and Felix Lüdicke in Isarvorstadt are still discussing whether the space is being used at all and whether ten parking spaces wouldn’t make more sense. The planners from raumzeug repeatedly hear “gentrification” criticism at the square: that they are only staging the functioning of the piazza and that the neighbors don’t use the square at all.
Are the critics right? My opinion: No. Firstly, a hundred meters further on, behind the underpass on Tumblingerstrasse, there are always free parking spaces. You just have to use them. Secondly, we should all be driving less anyway. Thirdly, the raised beds are blooming and growing. Why is that an argument? They are looked after by some extremely dedicated space and bed sponsors from the neighborhood. Doesn’t that alone speak for the fact that the community in Piazza Zenetti works? I mean, apart from the fact that there’s always someone sitting here? … Exactly. And fourthly: I’ve rarely been to a place in Munich where neighborly togetherness comes about as easily as in Piazza Zenetti. We don’t need to discuss the fact that neighborly togetherness is rare in a big city like Munich and is becoming increasingly rare. Nor do we need to discuss the fact that we need spaces without consumer pressure that bring us closer together as people, as neighbors, that counteract the increasing anonymity in the big city and that activate togetherness instead of coexistence. Public spaces should invite, not exclude. And that is precisely what the Piazza does. Thanks to the spatial design by Johann-Christian Hannemann and Felix Lüdicke, but also thanks to the social commitment of the planners themselves. They can be found in the Piazza every Wednesday from 6 p.m. for the neighborhood meeting “putz, plausch und plan”. And they don’t even live in the neighborhood. That’s what I call commitment.

Also interesting on this topic: You can find a commentary on why Munich in particular needs creative projects in the October 2019 issue of G+L (topic “Creative city”). Written by: Johann-Christian Hannemann and Felix Lüdicke. Take a look inside the magazine here.

Photos: Johann-Christian Hanneman (raumzeug)

27.03.2026

Advertising

Energy-efficient refurbishment – sustainable building envelopes with DOMICO

Building design

Domico, Energy-efficient refurbishment, Refurbishment

Transformation des Gebäudebestands als zentrale Zukunftsaufgabe

Die energetische Sanierung zählt zu den drängendsten Herausforderungen der europäischen Bau- und Immobilienwirtschaft. Insbesondere Gebäude aus den 1960er- und 1970er-Jahren stehen vor einem tiefgreifenden Modernisierungsbedarf. Verschärfte gesetzliche Anforderungen an EnergieeffizienzBrandschutzNachhaltigkeitGebäudehülleFassadeFassadenvorgehängte hinterlüftete FassadenDOMICOBrandschutzDämmungRaumklimaModulleiste „S“VorfertigungEffizienzDie Planum®-FassadensystemeNachhaltiges BauenGebäudehülleEnergieträgerPlanum®SolarLuftdichtheitFassadeEnergiePlanum®SolarGebäudehülleUnterkonstruktionGebäudehülleEnergieeffizienzFassadenPhotovoltaikWeitere Informationen zum Thema Sanierung finden Sie hier:

QR-Code – DOMICO Report „WOHNHAUSANLAGEN“