Housing Block in Neu Ulm

The clear-cut form of this block is enlivened by loggias or “outdoor rooms” that open the dwellings to the civic park to the west and create transitional spaces between the private and public realms. Projecting room-height windows mean that even areas without a loggia enjoy direct access to the open air. The different depths of the reveals and planes of glazing, together with an alternation of transparent and translucent glass balustrades, and not least the loggias lend this monolithic volume a three-dimensional quality. The building was designed without barriers to provide scope for different dwelling forms and styles of living. Fixed elements were therefore minimized internally to allow greater latitude to future generations. The dwellings are served by a controlled ventilation system, and the development has a primary energy need of only 39.5 kWh/m2a, which complies with funding requirements for energy-saving buildings. The construction is based on a panel system with new technical and design elements. The external wall is completely prefabricated and consists of sandwich elements with rigid-foam core insulation. While the visible precast concrete outer face is painstakingly pointed, the inner faces are simply stopped and painted. Despite low construction costs (?1,267/m2 floor area), the strict concept for the carcass structure permitted the specification of high-quality finishings like wood-and-aluminium casements and parquet flooring.