Greening the city

Competition “Quartier Poststraße” Heidelberg

Central idea:
Open neighborhood.
The networking and integration of the quarter into the urban fabric is the fundamental urban development measure. In the extension of Häuserstraße, a generous opening will be created between the west and east sections, which will function as the future main access from the southwest.
Urban repair.
Unclear urban spaces and spatial edges are eliminated by the creation of three clear blocks based on a continuous grid and a harmonious building structure is created.
Small to Big.
Building sizes and heights vary from Poststrasse to Kurfürsten-Anlage. The design manages to mediate between the scales by staggering building heights from north to south from three to six storeys.
Green quarter.
The newly created park on the former parking lot forms the green heart of the entire quarter. Starting from this, the green space "grows" along the northern façade over the staggered roofs of the buildings to the Kurfürsten-Anlage. Despite the high proportion of green space, this creates a completely green quarter that presents itself as a sustainable future on all sides. The high proportion of greenery will significantly improve the microclimate of the entire urban environment.
Resilience.
As part of the urban planning design, attention is paid to a building structure that is as flexible and neutral in terms of use as possible. Storey heights are initially geared towards office use and create the possibility of reacting to changes if necessary, even in 60 years' time.
Sustainable quarter, Sustainable redensification:
In the west sub-area, based on the client's investigation, the existing buildings will not be retained and new efficient buildings with underground parking will be constructed here. In the east section, parts of the current carree structure will be retained. The existing high-rise building and the 4-storey building block will be retained.
Principle of sustainable redensification
With a floor area of approx. 400 m² and a height of approx. 45 m, the existing high-rise building has a very high proportion of CO2 and low utilization at the same time. In terms of fire protection, there is still potential here for 15 m up to the last finished floor level (+61 m). An increase in height is also compatible from an urban planning perspective. The building is to be raised with 4 storeys in lightweight construction. In order to ensure this statically and to increase the floor area, the tower will be extended to the south and north, creating additional living space. These two extensions support themselves like an exoskeleton and the 4-storey addition. No additional load is to be placed on the existing foundations. In order to ensure attractive exterior spaces and a continued slender tower view, the extensions on the north and west sides are set back every 4 storeys.
The footprint of the existing block will also be extended and raised by 1-2 storeys. This small additional load can be absorbed by the existing foundations.

Project type
Urban and open space planning competition
ideas competition

Location
Heidelberg

Client
City of Heidelberg Urban Planning Office

Competition area
2.6 ha

Processing competition
2023

Placement
One 3rd prize

Team
Peter Feuerbach  Darshan Rajendra  Sabrina Weber  Felizitas Dochantschi  Wei Sun

Cooperation
TOBE Stadt Städtebau / HKK Landschaftsarchitekten

„greening the city“

Respect & Compose

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