Location: Düsseldorf
Competition: 09 | 2018
Client: CESA Investment GmbH & Co. KG
Landscape Architecture: nsp christoph schonhoff landschaftsarchitekten stadtplaner BDA
A residential quarter in Düsseldorf
East of the crossroad „Am Seestern“ the „Green Loop“ forms the new address of the quarter – developed from the dynamics of the building, a prominent corner highlights the new complex. With different usages in the ground floor, it offers a public function directed to the street “Niederkasseler Landstrasse” and the adjacent green.
Directed west and parallel to the street, the building height decreases and forms a loop reacting to the surrounding solitary buildings and creating a special urban tension. Two generously spaced passages in the ground floor lead from the street across the courtyard into the heart of the Loop and further to the newly defined green space that connects to the generous outdoor terrace located nearby the restaurant “Am Seestern”.
The clear and robust structure not only supports the idea of the quarter as a connecting community space but also allows for the integration of other usages like small retail or trade shops, offices or meeting spaces for the community: e.g. an ice-cream parlor, a café or a bakery; additional services and medical care are possible as well.
The Loop forms the urban structure for the development of a participative residential model. The building receives an attractive address and urban adventure area. This urban realignment creates an attractive building ensemble in scale and formulation on the one hand and on the other hand an appropriate architecture with an own and high-quality identity = landmark.
Developed within the urban context, the free space concept presents specific offers and exciting spaces that interact with the buildings creating a respective characteristic. The forecourt “Am Seestern” connects the buildings to the green surrounding.
By following the idea of the “individual in the community”, an architecture is created that metaphorically reinterprets the dissolving urban block development with a prominent corner. The façade is the essential architectural element to frame the public space shaping the character of the quarter in terms of dimension and design in the interplay of streets and green space.
Additionally, the courtyard presents itself as the “green lung” – continuously greened balconies spread along all floors and transition to a community garden on top of house A. House B, C and D provide stocked terraces and naturally well lit apartments. All apartment units receive natural light and ventilation. Small living units can flexibly be added to other apartments, if necessary.