“stadt-land-schafft” was the title of the winning project in the Europan 6 competition in 2001. After twelve years of development and construction, the building is now set to be handed over to its occupants. It has turned out to be more than a building! It is a man-made mountain, an alternative to block perimeter development, with a Piranesque, three-dimensional urban landscape within.
Based on applied spatial geometry and objective criteria, the result is a maximum cubage which incorporates neighbourhood interests (sun, public space, etc.) with pinpoint precision for the location. According to the original specifications of the competition, the mountain-like building was to be used for different purposes: flats with terraces on the crust, with supermarkets, specialist stores, and general shops inside. With the aid of the structural zoning system, the project evolved into an unusual development plan in 2007 which precisely described the mountain in terms of its expanse and limited the usable floor space within. The commercial areas were converted into residential areas in the course of planning: today there is a nursery school, a hostel, and numerous common areas (shared kitchen, conservatories, playing areas, chess terrace, etc.) woven into the inner atrium, which acts as a miniature town, providing direct access to the 200 flats. The flats themselves are highly diversified in terms of organisation: some arranged on several storeys, some with light scoops, all with windows giving on to the atrium and a run-around terrace on the outside.
Photo credits: (c) pierer.net
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