Urban planning concept

The new residential quarter with the market place, bus station, supermarket with senior citizens’ center, day care center and a restaurant loft forms a new center in the Roleber district. This identity-creating concept is a sensible addition to the existing structure, enriches the public space and is sure to become a popular meeting place in the district. Our design carefully develops the existing urban situation at the edges and uses the building sites at the central park and market place for moderate densification with apartment buildings. The urban development concept allows for flats of exceptionally high quality due to the generous relationship to the outdoor space, the creation of a clearly defined private sphere and the high-quality development.

• detached house cubes
• good ventilation and comfortable microclimate
• optimal building orientation
• good lighting for all flats
• residential courtyards with a communal center
• terraced house complexes with a neighbourhood square
• attractive row of semi-detached houses with a view of the nature reserve
• clear completion and rounding off of the development vis-à-vis the FFH and nature conservation area
• garden courtyard houses at the transition to the existing detached houses
• stacked single-family houses (Einspänner) and a residential tower in the Alleen quarter
• compact residential courtyards without basement close to the neighbourhood garage
• development ring with visitor parking for short distances
• a day-care center with a connection to the park and market place
• Diversity in the house typologies and thus also diversity in the housing offer
• No direct orientation of private open spaces / balconies towards the cemetery
• Fire protection – predominantly three-storey construction, where possible with staggered storeys and a residential tower with safety staircase
• a supermarket and a restaurant loft at the bus station and market square
• a senior citizens’ center above the supermarket for residential groups and assisted living

Concept for open spaces

The urban development concept results in a high proportion of green spaces with characteristic woody structures, sophisticated planting and attractive garden areas. The central park as a “playground” for young and old and a market place offers spaces with high quality of stay.

• Large, varied green and drainage areas
• Preservation of characteristic woody structures
• Multi-layered uses on the neighbourhood square, e.g. as a boules court, market place, open space for playgrounds and youth mobiles, meeting place and a location for neighbourhood festivals.
• an “equipment playground” with a connection to a green corridor in the optional development areas.
• Fitness park with exercise equipment in the central park
• preservation of the “moat” with its magnificent tree population
• all roofs will be extensively greened
• Rainwater is collected in cisterns and used for garden irrigation
• All excess roof water and rainwater on the development paths will be infiltrated into the adjacent green spaces in partially widening seepage trenches to improve the balance of groundwater recharge in the area.
• Retention trough for rainwater as a small biotope
• Parking spaces with infiltration joints
• safe pedestrian connections
• the preservation of large existing trees and the generous green spaces with new trees meet the increased need for urban green space as a buffer for heat and heavy rainfall events due to climate change and as a dust filter

In the realization part, the area develops from the “entrance square” towards the west. The bus stops, the suburban railway and a multi-storey car park are connected via this square. In addition, the square takes on the function of a public neighbourhood square that opens up to the boulevard. This creates an attractive urban space with a high quality of stay, traffic safety and social control for pedestrians and cyclists, and promotes a representative address for the neighbouring businesses and customers.

Overall, the development system can be characterised as finely structured, clear and open. The different zoning, street space divisions, the clear visual axes and the square-like expansions along the main development along the main development – the “Green Boulevard” – results in optimal orientation for all road users. This urban promenade not only opens up the entire commercial area, but also presents itself as a strong identification feature for the residents. Planted with different types of trees, this new wide neighbourhood boulevard changes throughout the year.

Especially in spring and autumn, when the trees blossom and their autumn colours dominate the cityscape. In summer, when the twine trees blossom creamy white, and in autumn, when the leaves of the oaksturn an intense play of yellow and orange, the neighbourhood boulevard sets a strong accent, even beyond.

The new street furniture consisting of long double benches invites people to linger under the trees planted at different intervals. The central heart of the boulevard will be the neighbourhood square. Café or restaurant with outdoor catering and shops. On the square, in the shade of the free-standing trees, urban life takes place. In the ideas section, another town square is planned as a link between the neighbourhoods.

A park with a lake forms a central open space element and increases the added value of the entire district. The lake will be created for the retention of rainwater and will contribute to the quality of stay with its seating steps and footbridges. The proposed open spaces and the individually designed roof areas in the form of terraces, loggias and roof gardens create differentiated open space qualities and offers for various uses.

The new neighbourhood is characterised by a strongly greened structure.

The basic shape of the building creates clearly defined outdoor areas, each of which sets different focal points for their uses:

• The forecourt as a prelude and welcoming place is paved to the necessary extent, and offers enough space for arriving groups, waiting people and cars driving up. In the center, a decorative bed with moisture-tolerant plants such as brightly flowering irises and tall sedges collects and cleans the rainwater from the adjacent areas.
• The courtyard in front of the staff restaurant is screened from the street by a gently rising embankment with seating steps and a planting at its back. The size of the courtyard is designed in such a way that individual tables can be placed slightly apart from each other so that they can also be used as desks or for meetings.
• The delivery courtyard is screened off at the south-eastern corner.
• The two northern courtyards are limited by the wooded islands and are also less sunny overall due to the building shade, which is beneficial during breaks as well as when working during the warm months.
• The courtyards are also designed to move the small informal meetings in the tea kitchen outside in a very short distance. The terraces are embedded in a shade planting at least waist-high and screened by individual large shrubs for privacy.
• The large roof area in direct spatial connection with the co-working and event area combines ball sports and gymnastics, breaks and urban farming as well as the possibility of working outdoors to enable informal gatherings with different groups. The individual areas are arranged in such a way that they interfere with each other as little as possible. Directly adjoining the corridor area is a large event terrace, which could also be enlarged if necessary.

The planting concept relies on a low-maintenance and robust strategy that can best be described as “controlled wilderness with increased biodiversity”. This broad ecological amplitude begins with the roofs, which develop into dry grasslands with a high diversity of species and a large number of Red List species through special substrates and hay seeds (also on the solar roofs!), and ends with the flowering wet meadow of the forecourt.

All green spaces are designed as species-rich meadows or site-appropriate woodland islands with a flowering undersow of native wild shrubs and become an important stepping stone of urban biodiversity. Where possible, surface water is channelled openly and infiltrated into hollows.

The “lower” level creates a strong connection to Bahnhofstrasse and consequently to the village center and thus brings the refurbished, converted Wolffskeelhalle more into focus, making it more present and transforming it into a clear landmark. The foyer, in front of the hall that serves as a residential stay, gives way to a public, sloping green space. A forecourt leads the visitors to the main entrance and offers space for different uses. In addition, it provides a qualitative free space for the premises of the youth center, the clubs and the foyer. A spacious wooden deck as a living element offers a view of the surrounding landscape.

Pedestrian and car access from the direction of Bahnhofstrasse and Reutergasse are clearly separated from each other. With the car you are clearly guided to the new, two-story parking deck.