Floor coverings are the essential design element of an open space. The texture of the chosen material determines the effect and use of a space. In the March 2019 issue of G+L, we use projects from Germany and abroad to show how effective the choice of material can be and what’s new on the subject of natural stone and concrete.

Floor coverings are the essential design element of an open space. The texture of the chosen material determines the effect and use of a space. In the March 2019 issue of G+L, we use projects from Germany and abroad to show how effective the choice of material can be and what’s new on the subject of natural stone and concrete. G+L editor Theresa Ramisch talks about the motivation behind the magazine and the importance of floor coverings.

I’ll admit: the topic of this issue has never been one that I’ve been particularly interested in. Floor coverings. Concrete and natural stone. For me as an urban planner who thinks on a larger scale, it sounded dry at first – even irrelevant. But as an editor, I keep seeing different projects, discovering the connections between them, familiarizing myself with the subject matter and developing an increasing fascination. And what can I say? Concrete and natural stone have a new fan.

But how else could you react when you look at projects like the “Camí de les Guixeres” in Igualada, Catalonia? Here, the planners at Batlle i Roig completely redefined a former gypsum mining area with an 800-metre-long path. A new visitor attraction in which nature and landscape remain the main protagonists. The office uses local, recycled demolition materials for its project, develops rainwater retention facilities with them and compensates for the lack of lighting with luminescent concrete. Pure inventiveness. I had a similar feeling about the Topotek 1 project in Aabenraa, Denmark. Here, the planners used traditional building materials to design the city center, but in an unconventional way that surprises and at the same time blends in perfectly with the cityscape. It is the ground design that creates the public space here, defines its boundaries and supports the opportunities for people to spend time there.

“What I have learned: Flooring is anything but dry.”

What I have learned: Floor coverings are anything but dry. They are a question of attitude, as Maren Brakebusch from Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten and Hans-Hermann Krafft from WES logically state in their articles. The eternal battle for the lowest price means that hardly any regional stones are used today. Designs look the same. The stones that come from Dubai and co. put us under pressure to argue. This issue illustrates why cities should rely on local flooring materials. At the same time, materials experts Diana Drewes and Sascha Peters provide us with an update on CO2-free building materials. Perhaps this will be a sustainable compromise in the future?

For my part, I’m expecting more aha moments. Even when I think about the next three issues of G+L. Because they are special. In April, May and June, our mini-series “Cities for tomorrow” will deal with three selected topics that are currently putting our cities under pressure: the design of sustainable residential districts, the right strategies for dealing with tourism and open spaces as political spaces in the sense of the democratic approach – freely accessible to all.

And while I’m on the subject, I would also like to thank you. Recently, we have often received feedback that our texts in white lettering on a green background are not ideal for reading. Such feedback is very important to us. We take it seriously and have adapted the layout accordingly. We hope that you will now have crystal-clear vision again for enlightening moments.

Have we piqued your interest? You can order the G+L on the subject of textures here.

Coming up:

The April issue of G+L is all about sustainability – a principle that has been beaten to death. Its relevance remains unbroken. In April, we discuss the question of how and where cities are creating structural solutions that are not limited to meeting prescribed standards, but develop ideas that take the concept of sustainability to exciting new heights.

Copyright cover image: Hanns Joosten

How do you create space for 750 children? The architects were asked to combine the daycare center and youth club for the neighborhood in one place. This is how Kids’ City was created.

How do you create space for 750 children? The architects were asked to combine the daycare center and youth club for the neighborhood in one place. This is how Kids’ City was created.

It can be described as an almost impossible undertaking to build something from scratch in the center of Copenhagen these days. But the “Kids’ City” in Christianshavn is a rare exception to the rule. The 11,000 square meter site of this “kids’ city” is entirely geared towards the needs of the 0 to 18 age group. Designed by Cobe and Nord Architects and inaugurated in 2016, Kids’ City integrates the everyday activities of over 700 children, as it combines a kindergarten and youth club in one large daycare center.

The triangular site is unique as it borders a canal on one side and the northern part of Freetown Christiania, an alternative housing estate founded in 1971, on the other. The almost rural-looking Refshale Way separates Kids’ City from the now world-famous Christiania. Both places are former military sites. The island-like character of the area is further
reinforced by the fact that the eastern part of the Christianshavn district ends here. On the other side of Prinsessegade is the main entrance to Kids’ City, within a very mixed urban environment characterized by inconspicuous perimeter block development from the 1880s and 1970s.

New public facilities are urgently needed in densely built-up Christianshavn. For Kids’ City, Cobe and Nord developed a concept in which the 4,400 square meter area of the building ensemble was divided into smaller units, which together form the miniature city. The result was a city within a city, consisting mainly of simple two-storey buildings, a collection of seemingly randomly distributed structures on the site. However, as many of the buildings are connected to each other along the sides of the street, the ensemble looks like a kind of zigzagging, low perimeter block development.

The very individually designed buildings were clad with various materials such as metal, brick, wood and glass, with the contrast between bright yellow brickwork and matt black façade panels standing out in particular.
In addition, some of the buildings are arranged at different angles to each other. Some building units have pitched roofs or overhanging façades that also act as parapets and thus enclose the play areas on the occasional flat roofs. If you look at all the houses from the street, these upper playgrounds are not recognizable. The buildings with wooden façades are an exception: Their vertical wooden bands form a clearly legible fence element that crowns each building. Simple square aluminum windows of various sizes were set into the facades. There are only a few custom-made building elements – such as the metal sliding shutters with “Swiss cheese” round windows.

Read the full article in B4: Play spaces – architecture for children.