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Article from issue 11/2002 »Balconies, Oriels - Balcons, bow-windows«

Residential complex Potsdam

documentation p. 1400 - 1401
Architect Becher + Rottkamp | Specialist Planner Holk & Kaletta | Wortmann, Heiner BDLA | Structural Engineer HEG Beratende Ingenieure |

Drafts

Floor plan / Section 1:400

These three linear blocks in inner-city Potsdam were built as part of a government low-cost housing programme. Each of the 96 apartments has a large outside space. The south-facing facades with balconies and storey-high elements of glass and fibre-cement contrast with the punctuated facades on the other three sides. Purist design and an appropriately careful use of materials combine well to give an attractive impression. The balconies are of water-impermeable, lightweight precast concrete with a drainage gutter recessed into the slab. Waterspouts reduce the need for downpipes. Steel-framed mat-glass dividers between the balconies lend added lightness to the horizontally articulated facades.