Europan Germany

Site Description

Category: L/S - Urban planning and architecture
Team representatives: Architects, urban planners, landscape architects
Location group: From functional infrastructures to productive city
Location: Aschaffenburg "Damm", Mühlstraße
Inhabitants: Total city approx. 70,000 / Damm district 13,000
Scope: approx. 5 ha
Project area: approx. 3.3 ha
Site proposal: GBW Group, City of Aschaffenburg
Participating stakeholders: GBW Group, City of Aschaffenburg
Property owner: GBW Group
Type of commission: Urban development framework plan and implementation of construction measures

What can the site achieve in relation to the theme of productive cities?

In the form of Schillerstraße, the traffic planning of the 1970s cut a swath through the historic core of the Damm district, which acts as a barrier and has not been urbanistically or functionally fleshed out in the last 50 years. The adjacent uses merely filled interstitial spaces that stood next to each other without relationship. The expected traffic relief from the completion of the new ring road system in July 2017 will make it possible to tie the two sides of the street together again and, especially on the north side, to develop an urban structure that links housing with commercial structures while integrating usable building fabric into the structural transformation. Such a linkage between commercial and residential is considered to have great enhancement potential.

Strategic goals

The building structures on both sides of Schillerstraße are to be reorganized by the changed traffic routing and the living along this inner-city main street is to be strengthened. At the same time, a compatible neighborhood to the district center at Michaelsplatz is to be created. Thus, reactivation of trade and services in connection with building reuse and streetscape design are an important part of the task. A concept is sought that can be realized in phases and can be implemented within the framework of urban renewal. The communication and participation structures that have already been established with the citizens and the players from trade, commerce and culture are to be taken up and promoted. Through targeted interventions and reorganization of the outdoor spaces as well as additions to the development, existing deficits are to be reduced and conceptual visions are to be shown.

Location

Aschaffenburg-Damm is a centrally located district of Aschaffenburg. Public transport connections are good, with three bus stops within a few minutes' walk of the competition area. There is direct access to the B8 and B26 via Schillerstraße, and Aschaffenburg's main railway station is around 1 km away as the crow flies. The local recreation area on the Aschaff River, on the district's eastern edge, can be reached on foot within 10 minutes. The competition area covers a relatively small area. The 9-story high-rise building at the intersection of Schillerstraße and Mühlstraße, which is to be upgraded for the future and usefully supplemented, is a distinctive feature of the area. Due to its location close to the city center, its presence in the street space and the future traffic relief, there is an opportunity here to exert a positive influence on the surrounding area.

How can production be integrated into the programmatic diversity of the city?

As part of a restructuring and the resulting possible mix of residential, service, retail as well as commercial uses close to the city center, a validation of the neighborhood is sought. The project area is currently characterized by parking spaces, a lack of or unattractive open and green spaces, and the busy Schillerstrasse. There is now a unique opportunity for an urban upgrade, also for the benefit of the neighboring areas. The focus is on linking commercial units with the existing tenant structure in combination with complementary residential forms for various user groups. GBW Franken GmbH is the owner of the high-rise building at Mühlstrasse 38 in Aschaffenburg-Damm. The current character of the residential complex is characterized by the 9-story high-rise building from 1967, the lack of open spaces or green areas, parking lots, and the immediate vicinity of the (still) busy Schillerstraße. The current situation gives rise to a reorganization of the neighborhood. The goal is to create an overall urban development concept that prioritizes a moderate mix of residential and commercial units as well as upgrading and adapting the outdoor facilities to the needs of the residents. The competition area extends to the intersection of Schillerstraße/Mühlstraße. Here, viable concepts for a traffic-calmed environment are to be developed.

Site Description

Category: L/S - Urban planning and architecture
Team representatives: Architects, urban planners, landscape architects
Location group: From industrial area to productive city
Location: Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg
Inhabitants: total city 1.8 million, area under consideration 2,200 residential units (planned)
Area under consideration: approx. 26 ha
Project area: approx. 2 ha
Site proposal: IBA Hamburg GmbH in cooperation with the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing
Participants: IBA Hamburg and private owners
Property owners: public and private
Type of commission: Implementation of high-rise buildings in cooperative planning procedures.

What can the site achieve in relation to the theme of productive cities?

The creation of new development plans with different building areas (residential, mixed-use, commercial and industrial) in a difficult context with traffic and commercial noise can only lead to the desired urban development as well as architectural quality in combination with structural engineering solutions. The design of multifunctional buildings in combination with already committed land owners and locally active companies offers the potential of a maximum increase in space efficiency. Delivery, production and crafts should be made possible at the site as well as housing and education. Here, not only the local supply of the emerging neighborhood, but also an economic contribution for the entire city can be made.

Strategic goals

The project area is centrally located on the Elbe island of Wilhelmsburg. Through the reorganization and development of the areas, a lively and urban quarter with a diverse mix of residential, commercial, educational and leisure uses is to be created as part of a quality, sustainable and social quarter development. But also the social infrastructure as well as the exhaustion of all possibilities for a compatible neighborhood of housing, commerce and traffic in the sense of sustainable solutions are of particular importance. For this purpose, an urban and open space planning competition was held, from which Hosoya Schäfer Architects and AgenceTer (HSA/AT) emerged as the winners. At Europan 14, the focus is now on the question of concrete space programs and their transformation into building structures.

Location

The site, located between former industrial canals, has become the focus of urban development as a result of the relocation of the Wilhelmsburger Reichsstrasse, which currently still cuts through the district in a north-south direction and will in future run along the eastern rail corridor. The relocation will remove the dividing barrier between the existing neighborhoods. The land freed up in the area of the competition site opens up the possibility for new urban development in a central location. Today, the site has an extreme mixture of different uses and contrasts between the existing and the planned. The allotment gardens will be redensified, the sports areas will be relocated by a superior concept and underused areas (e.g. the former container storage) will be activated.

How can production be integrated into the city's programmatic diversity?

Jaffestraße and the adjacent properties are already productive. Here you will find yards characterized by warehousing, manufacturing businesses, mixed-use properties such as the old margarine factory with its commercial studios, and the modern Jaffe12 commercial yard. The development of the Elbinselquartier as well as the Wilhelmsburger Rathausviertel adjacent to the south and the Spreehafenviertel adjacent to the north will lead to an influx of approximately 10,000 people in the long term. Not only the creation of residential space, but also the creation of attractive structures for small to medium-sized production and commercial enterprises is the goal of the development. The credo of planning in all areas should not be either/or but both/and.

With which spatial program and which building structures can the idea of the Productive City be implemented?

In the development of the program, the increased noise emissions from the eastern industry as well as the Wilhelmsburger Reichsstraße, which will be relocated by the end of 2019, must be taken into account. The location on the canal is considered a quality and should be strengthened as such in the development of the area. The design should make programmatic statements on concrete occupancy options for the individual spatial units (vertically as well as horizontally). The question of what kind of businesses make a suitable contribution to the productive quarter and which ones play a role beyond the location for the supply of Hamburg with local products or central services is to be dealt with in detail. Different models of real estate development for procedural implementation and occupancy are also to be cited as part of the design.

Site Description

Category: L/S - Urban planning and architecture
Team representatives: Architects, Urban Planners, Landscape Architects
Location Group: From Functional Infrastructures to Productive City
Location: Munich Neuperlach and Taufkirchen "Am Wald "
Inhabitants: ~ 1.5 Mio Munich / ~18,000 Taufkirchen
Consideration Areas: A/B ca. 40 ha, C/D ca. 90 ha
Project Areas: A approx. 2 ha, B approx. 1.5 ha, C approx. 5 ha, D approx. 8 ha
Site proposal: GEWOFAG Wohnen GmbH
Participating stakeholders: GEWOFAG Wohnen GmbH
Property owner: GEWOFAG Wohnen GmbH
Type of commission: A separate procurement procedure is required for the award of a planning contract.

What can the site achieve in relation to the topic of productive cities?

The need for a large number of new and affordable rental apartments in Munich poses new challenges for the municipal housing company GEWOFAG. As part of Europan 14, four sites are to be investigated as models to determine the extent to which parking lot areas, some of which are land-intensive, in post-war modernist housing estates are suitable for redensification. In addition to the short-term creation of new, affordable housing, the aim is to ensure a high level of residential value and to develop high-quality urban building blocks using simple means. To strengthen social sustainability, research will be conducted to determine where high-quality housing can be located in the base zone and in which strategically appropriate locations complementary productive functions can be located.

Strategic goals

With the "Back to the Roots" program, GEWOFAG wants to initiate a strategic change of perspective from an architectural point of view, which should lead to a stronger alliance between economic efficiency and building culture. According to the principle of simplicity, simple, intelligent concepts are sought for the complex requirements; according to the principle of repetition, proven methods are to be passed on and the economic efficiency of building is to be promoted through repetition of simple, well-solved residential floor plans or through standardization of building components. According to the principle of effectiveness, an increase in quality is sought through the use of small, effective measures. According to the principle of communication, the interaction between the building and the city as well as the interaction between the residents and the neighborhood is aimed at.

Locations

Four different areas are offered for processing, for which a common system is to be developed. These are large housing estates, each with large-scale parking lots on the edges. These interfaces to the urban space are spatial links, offer space for additional living space and at the same time can strengthen the interaction of the settlement bodies towards the public space through offers and uses that are missing in the neighborhood. In the sense of an economical and time-saving construction method, serial thinking is to be combined with constructive knowledge. The aim is to find a basic system that is as flexible as possible and can be adapted to different urban situations. In the process, simple but sophisticated urban building blocks are to be created that contribute to the upgrading of the neighborhoods with intelligent floor plans and a base zone that is both robust and interactive.

How can production be integrated into the city's programmatic diversity?

The introduction of social offerings and productive programs of different scales will add a new dimension to the neighborhoods. In the future, parking spaces should be located in underground garages to make first floor zones available for various neighborhood uses. Here it should be examined to what extent residential use is also possible in the first floor zone, and with which design means this can be implemented with a good living quality. In addition, community uses and other functions serving the settlements can find space on the urban level. These neighborhood uses are available to their own tenants and also contribute to neighborhood connectivity. Productive programs that are compatible with the residential character contribute to the intensification of social life in the neighborhoods, especially by introducing new rhythms. Solutions are sought for the redensification of residential development. Economic efficiency and building culture are not to be regarded as opposites but as a unity with two poles that must be negotiated with each other in order to achieve the optimal result. The following goals have top priority: cost-effective housing construction, robustness and value retention in the existing stock, social sustainability in the neighborhood, high identification of the residents with their living environment. Versatility is the basis of urban life. The open spaces previously used as ground-level parking lots are to be upgraded in the course of redensification. An essential part of the design task includes better orientation in the neighborhood, the design of the neighborhood accesses, zoning of the open spaces and the creation of missing path connections.

Site Description

Category: L/S - Urban planning and architecture
Team representatives: Architects, urban planners, landscape architects
Location group: From (residential) city to productive city
Location: Neu-Ulm, south of the city center
Inhabitants: total city 58,200, project area: approx. 1,350
Consideration area: 150 ha
Project area: 16.5 ha
Site proposal: City of Neu-Ulm; NUWOG, Wohnungsgesellschaft der Stadt Neu-Ulm GmbH
Participating stakeholders: City of Neu-Ulm, NUWOG
Property owners: City of Neu-Ulm, NUWOG, south of Riedstraße private owners
Type of commission: urban master plan, residential development

What can the site achieve in relation to the theme of productive cities?

Neu-Ulm Vorfeld is located in a mixed-use area close to the city center and has good public transport connections. It is a 5-minute walk to the Neu-Ulm train station, and the distance to Ulm Cathedral is about 2 km. The pedestrian connection to the city center and to the southern parts of the city is ensured by the "Grüne Brücke" (Green Bridge) - a bicycle and footpath axis, which was created in the context of the State Garden Show 2008 - in high quality. Extensive green areas, some of which are used as playgrounds, are to be upgraded in accordance with the carefully understood principle of "redensification before external development". The buildings and open spaces of the former elementary and technical college are owned by the city and offer unique potential for innovative design and utilization programs.

Strategic goals

Neu-Ulm is located in a high-growth region with very high population pressure on the city center. In the north, the Danube forms the natural border between Neu-Ulm and Ulm. An expansion of the city center is therefore only possible to the south. Here, the barracks area Vorfeld represented an insurmountable barrier to the expansion of the city center until the withdrawal of the troops in 1991. Its U.S. military past, which has not yet disappeared from all of Neu-Ulm's minds, its ownership and price structures mean that even today an above-average number of people with financial support needs live in the Vorfeld. The goal is to integrate the neighborhood and its residents in a sustainable way and to implement new types of neighborhoods between urban living, culture, services and work for all levels of the population.

Location

The study area is located south of the Glacis complexes that border the downtown area and is crossed by four major thoroughfares. To the west, the technical and vocational high school and a mixed-use area border the project area, and to the east is the cemetery, which covers approximately 9.3 hectares. The monostructured apron was developed in the 1950s as a "family housing area" for U.S. military personnel and has been part of the Soziale Stadt urban development program since 1999. Architecture and open space design reflect American ideas of housing, sports, green spaces and traffic. The homogeneous and loose development consists of 3- to 4-story residential rows with about 400 apartments, which have been extensively modernized since 1999. In the center is the 3.3-hectare area of the former elementary and technical college. Some of the buildings are not structurally worth preserving and are currently in interim use.

How can production be integrated into the programmatic diversity of the city?

The intended mixture of housing close to the city center, culture, settlement-related work, services and local recreation is intended to create a lively extension of the city center that is integrated into the city as a whole. Urban planning, landscape planning and architectural solutions are sought for the redensification of residential development. The focus is on promoting work in the neighborhood, revitalizing the first floor zones and intensifying social life. The urban redevelopment of the neighborhood should respect the history of the site's origins while creating an open place for future generations. Versatility is the basis of urban life. The future uses to be developed for the buildings and open spaces of the former elementary school and technical college located in the center of the project area are therefore of overriding importance. The goal is to create a center here that utilizes the diverse potentials of the urban location and contributes to linking and sustainably integrating the apron beyond its boundaries with the adjacent neighborhoods. The development of programs, which can be implemented in stages if necessary, for the upgrading, redensification and reorganization of the large, sometimes undesigned and unused open spaces and buildings, is an essential part of the design task. This also includes the revision or completion of the missing internal path connections as well as the networking with the surrounding neighborhoods and the image improvement, e.g. by designing the neighborhood accesses that are currently not recognizable as such.

Site Description

Category: L/S - Urban planning and architecture
Team representatives: Architects, urban planners, landscape architects
Site group: From (residential) city to productive city
Location: eastern inner city of Zwickau
Inhabitants: total city 91. 500
Scope: 61 ha
Project area: 27.9 ha
Site proposal: City of Zwickau
Participating stakeholders: City of Zwickau, Initiative Zwickau 2050
Property owners: City of Zwickau, 2 housing associations, housing cooperative and private owners
Type of commission: urban-landscape planning development concept and building planning

What can the site achieve in relation to the theme of productive cities?

The goal is to transform the monofunctional and homogeneous residential use of the existing 5- and 11-story prefabricated buildings in the eastern inner city into mixed-use neighborhoods. Complete or partial deconstruction is to re-establish references to the western historic city center. The public space system of the city center is to be enriched. The establishment of handicrafts, small businesses, services and culture, as well as their added value and area compatibility with the residential function, is the main focus. The principle of separating work, living and leisure is to be broken up. The guiding principle is a mixed-use city with short distances, high-quality architecture and high-quality public spaces.

Strategic goals

In the integrated urban development concept adopted at the end of 2013, "inner over outer development" is defined as the primary objective. Strengthening the inner city with its high concentration of monuments has enjoyed the highest priority to date. With the development of the inner city and the historically shaped suburbs close to the inner city, Zwickau is pursuing the urban development model of a compact city, taking into account the historical, natural and traffic conditions. A new goal is the elimination of the prefabricated building barrier, the opening of the inner city to the Zwickauer Mulde river, which borders directly to the east, and the creation of a bridge between the western old town and the "Muldeparadies" cultural area with residential and commercial uses.

Location

Zwickau has an old town center that still shows its medieval basic structure. The eastern core of the city, which was severely damaged by a flood in 1954, was almost completely demolished in the 1970s and rebuilt according to the model of industrial construction in normative large panel construction with 5 and 11 stories. The inner-city location of the housing area and the large number of affordable apartments currently represent a high value. At the same time, this part of the city center has developed into a self-contained, mono-functional area with few other uses and little sustainable urban flair. In addition, the residential rows, which are difficult to modernize, seal off the city center from the new recreational space on the banks of the Mulde River.

How can production be integrated into the city's programmatic diversity?

The Athens Charter was long considered the blueprint for a functioning city. However, the realization is increasingly gaining ground that living, working and leisure are not sustainable separately and that the first floor with its public space plays a decisive role. Short distances are being rediscovered. The mixed use of neighborhoods, the creation of lively urbanity and urban density are gaining in importance. The deceleration of motorized individual transport, the acceleration of public transport and the optimization of the bicycle and footpath network are therefore imperative. Short distances increase the attractiveness of the city and contribute to the conservation of resources. Production does not have to be limited to crafts and trades. The goal is also to expand the location of the West Saxon University of Applied Sciences in the western downtown area to the eastern area of the city center in order to establish intellectual production in the planned mix of uses. Building and use ideas must be capable of attracting a variety of stakeholders. The new buildings, clusters or quarters should be multifunctional in themselves and have several mutually compatible uses horizontally and vertically, such as housing, services, commerce, culture and education. Due to the immediate proximity to the Zwickauer Mulde River, offers for urban gardening for O2 production could also be created on open spaces.