ACHTUNGSTRASSE

Heilbronn, Germany | Completed 2005

The desire for urban living within a small 9-family house with elevator and underground parking is realized. The five-storey residential building boasts a restrained yet independent architectural language, which is supported by a strong anthracite colour scheme. With its rational layout of the plaster façade, the building fits into the surrounding clinker brick buildings from the Wilhelminian era. The upright formats of the windows can be closed with sliding elements - which are split horizontally and vertically.

The neighbourhood surrounding the old train station in the city of Heilbronn is undergoing a significant change due to the implementation of a new regional streetcar and a new train station project. Heterogeneous in its structure, the existing neighbourhood has many post-war buildings of poor quality, in addition to a few historic urban villas.

The Achtungstrasse site is located at the intersection of two streets, and from this intersection, there is a visual axis Mozartstrasse, to a historic villa. This villa is one of the last reminders of a city that was rich in architecture history before the significant infrastructure damage caused by WWII. Our intention is to create a visual link and to develop a dialogue in architectural language between the past and present.

The penthouse stretches like a large telescope over the building and looks down the street toward its historic counterpart, being the villa and its existing spiral tower. The apartment building is grouped into two blocks, located left and right of the internal circulation. The rhythm of the window treatment assimilates with the historic brick facades left and right. Shutters, like those on the adjacent historic building, clothe the building exterior and add a new layer of materiality with the use of metal sliding panels. The colour concept of the shutters playfully responds to historic patterning. As users adjust the shutters according to their desires, new patterns will be continuously produced, thus creating an interactive piece of art that allows the inhabitants to be part of the building design. The building manages to integrate into the urban fabric while giving a presence and an identity to its location.

Increasingly, the discussion about the need for urban living opportunities for families arises. We intended to create inner-city housing opportunities that consider the needs of a larger household. There are three 4-room, three 3-room, and one 2-room apartment. The floor plans are designed to allow for a variety of divisions and personal individualization of space. A large terrace, approximately the width of the living, extends to the south and creates the appearance of a larger interior space.

CREDITS

Building Design: 
AIR studio (formerly ASIR Architekten)

Inge Roecker

Developer: 
Kruck + Partner