ARCHIVE

Article from issue 4/1999 »Steel Construction«

Housing Towers in Constance

documentation p. 643 - 648
Architect Bucher-Beholz, Ingo | Structural Engineer Leisering, Ingenieurbüro |

Drafts
Horizontal section through access gallery 1:20
Horizontal section through northern external wall 1:20
North elevation 1:500
Plan of roof storey/Plan of 2nd and 4th floors/Plan of 1st and 3rd floors 1:500
Section through party wall 1:20
Sectional details of balcony facade 1:20
Structural system 1:500
Vertical section through access gallery 1:20

Access to the 12 low-cost maisonette flats in two offset blocks is via separate open staircases and galleries. The towers are linked by planted bridges. In the absence of a basement, the blocks are raised above the ground, with the ground floor area providing space for parking, services and storage. The simple steel structure facilitated the erection of the towers in a low-energy form of construction in only six months. All internal and external walls are in a non-structural dry construction. Steel beams, columns and wind-bracing elements are housed in the cross-walls. The only stiffening in the longitudinal direction is provided by the vertical external wind-bracing structures that transmit the loads from the end walls to the ground.