home4
Residential buildingTo this day, the dissolution of urban density has failed to produce spatially appealing and socially inspiring solutions. Neither Le Corbusier’s city transformed into park landscape with individual highrises complete with integrated retail strips, nor Ebenezer Howards’ garden city movement, launched over a century ago, succeeded in replacing the charm oft he real, dynamic, and spontaneous city. To exaggerate, one might say that both alternatives were an attempt at urban planning as a surrogate. In one case with the help of free-floating housing steamships, in the other with the help of allotment gardens. The model of the gated community implemented today as part of the new urbanism in the United States is just hostile to urban living. What is notable is that nearly every essential feature has been conceived, expressed, and drafted since Le Corbusier, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. With the exception of rare, often long-since forgotten attempt, there is and individual, architecturally distinguished “habitation” in a verdant condominium-a synthesis of country villa and city home-is seen as a remedy that will re-awaken the enthusiasm for living in inhabitants becomes the subject of urban planning and architecture. The “highrise of homes” propagates an old dream that has remained unfulfilled to this day. But contrary to the customary dreams and visions for urban design, the architects in this case are keeping their sights firmly fixed on the small-scale and hence all the more urban reality of the city. This politically and ecologically compelling idea is being translated into concrete and ecologically compelling idea is being translated into concrete form at sites such as the Speicherstadt in Hamburg and the Rheinauhafen in Cologne.
»All attempts to unite work, living, and culture in one place simplify city life. Certain routes cease to be necessary, you save time and resources, and enhance the quality of life. «Hadi Teherani
Project Factsheet
Dagmar Nill, Katrin Koulouri, Marie-Louise Seifert, Andrea Hawlitzky, Peter Marquardt, Göran Wollmer