Urban integration ❘ The campus of the Max Planck Institutes in Mülheim an der Ruhr is completed by the new building for the analytical departments. The building fits in between the lecture theatre building and the laboratory tower without being subordinate. The desired representative, semi-public connection from the main entrance in the lecture theatre building to the high-rise laboratory building is created via a connecting corridor oriented towards Lembkestraße and visible from the street. The design of the new building utilises the opportunity to combine living and meeting spaces that are visible from the outside with modern working environments. The central element of the “living room” on each level at the transition to the high-rise building with a view towards the city centre illustrates this and provides insights into the world of the researchers from the street space. Just as the oldest and representative building of the former Kaiser Wilhelm Institute on the square of the same name forms a striking prelude to the campus to the south, the new building now does the same in addition to the high-rise laboratory building on the north side facing the city.

Open space quality ❘ The centrepiece of the campus will be the new, green living room in the courtyard, which extends the range of communicative break and retreat areas beyond the actual courtyard area. The courtyard itself fulfils all requirements for deliveries and escape routes and provides enough space for small and large parties. Sealing is kept to a minimum. The levelling of the green areas is achieved by terracing the lawns with seating steps that invite people to linger. The gradients on the lower courtyard level lead the surface water visibly and tangibly towards the green areas. The striking materiality of the surfaces in the area of the new CEC buildings in the form of polygonal slabs is continued in the courtyard in order to standardise the design. The existing attractive grass planting will also be continued wherever active open space utilisation is not possible, such as on Lembkestraße or along the new CEC building in the north of the courtyard.

A new centre for the organ city

The design concept for the town centre area of the organ town of Borgentreich envisages an upgrading of the historically significant ensemble of church, organ museum and the surrounding half-timbered houses. A strong, green framework will create a central square where the church and the organ museum are located, thus creating a new centre that is appropriate to the location. This square offers space for intergenerational stays, festivals, markets and meetings in front of the church. Appropriate shading and evaporation areas and the use of light-coloured materials will create a climate-adapted urban space.

In the existing building, the organ museum and the church are located on different sides of the street without any connection to each other. There is also a lack of spatial edges around the buildings that would define a common space. By creating a green framework, the necessary boundaries are created. The intensive green framework also forms a sustainable green space within the city. Additional trees will be planted to provide shade and retain moisture in order to minimise the heating of the open spaces in summer. The existing lawns around the church will be transformed into a church garden with herbaceous areas and shrubs. This will allow much more rainwater to seep away and evaporate. When selecting plants, a variety of species is taken into account so that plants are always in bloom throughout the year and thus provide food for insects. At the same time, the plants are robust against longer periods of drought in the summer months. The existing trees will be integrated into the new structure. Individual benches along the church invite visitors to linger in the new church garden.

The open and free square created within the lush, green framework forms the new ‘heart’ of Borgentreich’s town centre. The square is divided into three areas – a church forecourt, a small central town square that extends in front of the organ museum and a further, more secluded square behind the museum. The direct entrance area of the church will have a carpet of large-format, used natural stone slabs. Here, people can stand in the trellis for weddings and socialise after church services. At the end of the carpet, the existing wall to the south merges into two steps that lead down to the street. This further defines and accentuates the church forecourt. Thanks to the natural topography of the square, the church can be accessed barrier-free via the square without any structural installations.

The open space concept of the new local shopping centre is defined by generous open and green spaces, which lead to a transformation of the place in which the car is no longer in the foreground.
The spatially sophisticated building design integrates further green spaces into the building itself. The inner courtyards on the first floor take numerous other opportunities out of the buildings to make the centre even greener.

The forecourt opens up the local shopping centre to the neighbourhood and develops into a public square for everyone. The significant reduction in paved areas allows water to seep away more easily and fits in with the sponge city concept.
The preservation of the existing trees and the planting of additional deciduous trees and fruit trees are particularly important for this, but the use of grass paving for the car parks also contributes to this. The remaining paved areas will be fitted with light-coloured concrete block paving.
Numerous seating and recreational areas will also be integrated, which can be found at the café in the north or at the neighbourhood square.
The roof garden and inner courtyards also create a special place to relax and meet with seating and vegetation.

The existing school area is implemented in a structurally heterogeneous environment.

The new heart of the school landscape is located in the forum of the new building. The central space, which includes a gallery, offers many possibilities for use by the school community.

The future traffic development consists of a successful mix of motorised private and public transport, as well as cycling and pedestrian traffic. With the exception of a few barrier-free parking spaces, cars are parked outside the school area and the existing school grounds are implemented in a structurally heterogeneous environment.

The urban positioning of the buildings on Eberhardstrasse is orientated towards the important footpath connection in the direction of the public transport stops, and opens up the schoolyard in a meaningful way, which, as in the existing building, connects to the footpath in the direction of Sophienstrasse in the north (barrier-free access via a ramp) and opens up towards Mechthildstrasse.

Concept ❘ A centre, a network full of character, a ring path and the existing, extended vegetation form the basis of the concept for Münster Model Quarter 2. This “nature hybrid” is intended to be an international demonstration project for how sustainable housing and university construction can be combined with intensive reforestation, increased biodiversity and circular resource thinking in a suburban and peri-urban area. Dense and socially networked neighbourhoods are created. What is important is an urban structure in the centre that provokes education, exchange and community and expands along the “avenues”.

The urban-natural landscape ❘ The city and the university merge into a dense sub-centre. The existing vegetation becomes the starting point for a park – for an urban-natural landscape. The urban development project is intended to become a laboratory for the development of a close symbiosis of living and working environments in areas close to the city and help the city of Münster to realise its ambitious nature and climate protection goals. The overlapping of uses will enable a new urbanity on the outskirts of the city. A centre and structural density, consistent networking with the surroundings, the strong framework of tree structures and a mule track through the intensive natural garden are the basis of our concept for Model Quarter 2 in Münster.

The “Landschaft formt Stadt” concept envisages a nature-based and sustainable neighbourhood that takes into account the outstanding quality of the settlement area to be developed with its exposed location to the open landscape, its proximity to the Rhine and the historic old town of Kaiserswerth.

Urban and open space planning concept

The identity is characterised by the direct integration of the landscape and the mix of housing types. The green and open space extends from the Kalkumer Schloßallee railway station to the landscape (in the direction of Bach-Aue) and divides the urban figure into a multi-generational campus in the west and an educational campus in the south of the planning area. This creates a clearly defined edge to the town, formulating a visual reference to the open landscape. The shaping of the landscape space between the residential areas creates strong ventilation and greenery. Residents will be able to experience the space as a local recreation area. The overarching network of footpaths and cycle paths connects the open landscape with the surrounding neighbourhoods. The urban planning organisation defines interconnected building plots in the sense of an “urban village”, which provides for a diverse and flexible building structure for different forms of housing and architecture, and for several generations.

Transport/mobility concept

The area is characterised by excellent public transport connections. This is ensured by the railway station “Kalkumer Schlossallee” in the south-west and “Am Mühlenacker” in the north-west as well as a bus stop on Kalkumer Schlossallee. The concept envisages that only an efficient road connection between the neighbourhood in the south and Kalkumer Schlossallee is to be realised.