“Making visible the tolerant spirit of the Regensburg universities in the form of a guesthouse and place of encounter for students, researchers, and visiting lecturers” – a challenging task, considering it encompasses the redesign of a World War II anti-aircraft base. The architectural office of Thomas Neumann and Marko Heinsdorff accepted the challenge and renovated the ensemble, built between 1939 and 1941 according to an L-shaped layout and boasting the Heimatschutz style. A deeply cantilevering steel and glass roof covers the former roll call hall. Its design convinced the competition jury in 2019.
The historically listed volumes are situated in the south of the city, adjacent to both universities, the OTH and the University of Regensburg. Originally, the facility had been erected for an anti-aircraft base complete with staff building, guardhouse and an open role call hall, designed in the Heimatschutz style. Natural stone mouldings, hipped roofs covered in plain tile, dormers, and a bulbous roof lantern were intended to camouflage the squat military structures, giving them a residential appearance. After World War II, the US Army took over the base. From 1965 to 2007 it served the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2011 the city of Regensburg purchased the site and developed it into an urban district with residential and commercial functions combined with large and interconnected green spaces. The planning team liberated the gloomy column-lined hall bordering the former roll call area from its pitched roof and its dark roofing. Today, a lightweight steel structure spans across the solid columns. Full-height sliding glass elements transform the previously open hall into a community room resembling a pavilion. The semi-transparent and filigree grid ceiling offers a view of the roof structure above it. These elements circumscribe a place of encounter for the guesthouse. The new roof projects outward and covers a loggia protected from the sun and the rain, followed by a garden equipped with seating and grass-covered meadows.
The four storey staff building houses 36 apartments for students according to different types – ranging from compact single rooms to shared accommodation for up to four occupants. Further, 17 residences for lecturers, four family suites, and a wheelchair accessible unit were created. Nine emergency dwellings in the former detention cells on the floor embedded in the slope and located beneath the hall are available for short-term rent. One third of the units is situated in the previously unused attic. In the tall space, Neumann & Heinsdorff Architekten equipped the student apartments each covering 16 m2 with generous sleeping galleries. The historic preservation authority gave permission to install two additional skylights close to each dormer, allowing more daylight to enter the rooms. The planners limited ventilation openings and other roof penetrations to the bare minimum. In order to preserve the roof construction despite the degree of contamination due to flame retardant substances, the architectural office decided to remove the top layer of the rafters and purlins. The entire underside of the attic was clad in gypsum board, which ensures fire safety and prevents flashover between apartments.
The colour concept also refers to the history of the building: Three characteristic hues represent the different user groups. Mint green and a slightly darker variant define walls and ceilings and are inspired by waist-high original wall elements. The entrance doors to the apartments adopt the dark green of the office doors from the era of Bundeswehr use. The fiery orange of the US Army fire exit signs provides a strong accent. It reappears within the signage system and the service lines mounted on top of the rendered walls in the shared kitchen of the emergency apartments.
The architects and landscape planners succeeded in transforming a military base into an open and vivid place for student life – a valuable contribution to the vibrant university city.
