The infill area prescribed to the site by planning regulations is located directly at an intersection at the southern end of a lengthy road, Pannierstraße. As a visual response to the spatial context, the

front building

was designed with an apex to pick up on the front gables of the neighboring buildings and to optically moderate the differing eave heights on the buildings directly to the left and right. Together with a punctuated facade and offset socle, the building has been integrated harmoniously into the existing city architecture. A special feature is certainly the larch cladding; laid seamlessly, it echoes the flush planes of the adjacent plaster facades whilst still calling out the timber composite (or “sandwich”) paneling system that is rather untypical of the area. Equipped with both district heating and a heat pump with heat recovery system, the building achieves the KfW 55 efficiency standard. As a way of helping invigorate the neighborhood, the ground floor houses two commercial units—their colorful glazed-clinker front heralds the design used on the building in the rear courtyard.

The

garden house

in the rear courtyard is built on the existing fire wall and staggered in height to comply with setback regulations. The south- and east-orientated sides have been designed as terraces, thus maximizing high quality outdoor living space. Some sections of the garden are assigned to the adjoining ground floor apartments, but the central area between the garden house and the back house serves as a communal space that includes a common room. From the road out front right into the souterrain level of the garden house, barrier free cycle access ensures residents can simply roll on in.