The apartments in this new Berlin co-housing task by Zanderroth Architekten were created with out the want for load-bearing walls inside, giving the owners versatility to make a decision on their personal layouts .
The cb19 apartment complex by Berlin-primarily based Zanderroth Architekten comprises two 7-storey buildings that bookend a internet site in the neighbourhood of Prenzlauer Berg, with a courtyard in between them to home bike storage and a children’s play spot.
The architects built each floor with concrete panels that have a hollow core, providing both strength and a reduced excess weight. This permitted them to develop clear spans from the front to the back of each and every apartment with out the require for supporting walls inside.
The owners had been then free to determine on their very own floor program. Most chose two- or 3-bedroom layouts, even so 3 owners created maisonettes by combining apartments across two levels, and one particular proprietor combined four apartments on the leading two levels to develop a double-storey penthouse.
“No flat is equal to one more,” architects Sascha Zander and Christian Roth advised Dezeen. “The owners each and every had three meetings to speak separately about their floor strategies, bathroom style and electrical energy installations.”
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The developing was designed as a co-housing undertaking in collaborating with German organisation SmartHoming, who aided uncover and produce the website. The 27 owners then formed a company to finance the building, and worked with the architects to tailor the apartments.
“We pre-organized all necessities for the group, so they could type a very organised developing cooperative. In other cases, they would have to examine numerous details of the organizing, and there would be difficulties simply because of the lack of encounter,” explained the architects.
“The positive aspects are better personal freedom of style and reduce charges, mixed with higher architectural high quality,” they extra.
The popularity of private co-housing projects is developing in Germany – Zanderroth Architekten at the moment has 10 comparable tasks below development or finished – and the notion has also come to the Uk. Last yr Dezeen featured London’s 1st co-housing task, exactly where 6 home owners pooled collectively to acquire a web site and develop personal homes on it.
British architect Richard Rogers known as for much more innovation in housebuilding earlier this week, when his company unveiled its prefabricated housing scheme for homeless men and women in London.
The cb19 apartment complicated was developed on a web site formerly occupied by a tiny vehicle fix workshop, in between two older apartment buildings. To produce a sense of continuity on the street, it follows the height and set-back of its neighbours, but has a largely glazed facade to distinguish it as a present day addition, broken up by aluminium panels that open to offer ventilation.
“The facade consists of equivalent qualities to the older buildings, but in an inverse way,” explained the architects. “The gentle emphasis of the horizontal lines provides a connection to the surrounding buildings, and the colour of the aluminium was also selected to smooth the contrast with the neighbouring buildings.”
Bedrooms had been placed at front of the constructing, which faces northeast, and living spaces were placed at the south-dealing with back, where balconies have been extra to provide shade.
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“The large glazed sections let a lot more light into the side of the buildings which would usually be darker, and offer you a closer partnership with the city from inside,” explained the architects. “We didn’t repeat this at the back, in which the creating would heat up more rapidly.”
A single lift shaft in the two buildings provides direct accessibility to all apartments, and stairs have been placed behind this to offer a fire escape, accessed through the balconies at the rear.
“We wanted to avoid the need to have for stairs in everyday use,” said the architects. “Right after parking in the basement, the owners can reach their apartment right with the lift. This is generally a penthouse privilege, which we wanted to offer you every person.”
The arranging and building of the constructing was completed above 4 years, and the expense was €1,445 (about £1,057) per square metre, excluding taxes and fees.
“The project is reasonably priced thinking about the top quality and the freedom of selection for the owners,” stated the architects. “This value was only attainable simply because we made the decision to repeat the main facade on the second building, and because we chose pre-cast concrete to create the floors, which sped up the development process.”
Photography is by Simon Menges.
Undertaking credits:
Architects: Zanderroth Architekten
Structural engineer: Ingenieurbüro Leipold
Landscape architects: Herrburg Landschaftsarchitekten
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