GERKENS HOF, STUKENBROCK, GERMANY
Urban design residential master plan for 16 acres, housing concept for 66 units.

Invited architectural competition.  Awarded third prize.
Design: Syntax and CK-Architecture

HOUSING CONCEPT

Our proposal merges three design strategies:

1. Zipper Lot System: A system for the aggregation of freestanding single-family structures for a residential development on economically sized properties.  Each lot has a private yard and sufficient privacy, and is connected to both the public road and a public green recreation area.  The design proposal provides residential living areas comparable in size to those of traditional single-family dwellings, but making better use of exterior spaces, which allows for equal quality residential standards but at a lower cost.

2. Cluster System: The design proposal is subdivided in autonomous clusters of up to twelve housing units.  This allows for a phased development of the planning area, where individual housing clusters can be realized by architect-investor project teams. Each phase on its own maintains both its functional and compositional unity.

3. Unit Type System: The flexible mix of housing unit types on properties of different sizes caters to a variety of housing needs.  A clear, modular floor plan layout of all unit types assures economical planning and construction as well as a unified overall image.

URBAN INTEGRATION

The planning concept maintains a uniform design language in order to keep its own identity as a new residential development between the large scale industrial area in the west, the grown fabric of the existing residential structures in the north-east, and the open landscape in the south.  Simultaneously, the design blends seamlessly with the small-scale single-family morphology of the surrounding structures.  The orientation of the new building fabric is adjusted to the existing landscape and building fabric, and allows for an efficient use of the planning area.

NEW FORMS OF LIVING
The 66 housing units are structured in six building clusters / neighborhoods.  Fundamentally, the design intends to promote a maximum mix of different users with simultaneous flexibility of unit types:  The seven offered housing unit types can be swapped out indefinitely without disrupting the overall concept.

 All unit types, with the exception of the ‘single’, have private yards, which are connected via pedestrian paths to the central green recreational area.  The yards can be assigned to the appropriate house with site walls or hedges as needed. The network of integrated landscaped walking paths allows for a variety of opportunities for social interaction.