Student Housing, Mannheim
2019

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Semester 7

Prof. Felix Schürmann, Prof. Jörg Aldinger
In cooperation with Jessica Henkel and Philipp Ebner

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The site of this short, week long project is located southwest of Mannheim‘s old town near the Rhine River. The site also borders a busy six lane road and railway tracks leading from the main station. Therefore, noise pollution is the main concern. This area between the Rhine, the old harbor basin, and Friedrichspark, is the site for a housing project for and others. Hähning and Gemmeke’s competition guidelines also served as a basis for our project.

Our concept envisions a redesign of the park and the expansion of the university in connection with the park. Additionally, the old port area is to be revived by a promenade. The basic design premise developed for the student housing shields the apartments from traffic noise, leads the axis of the harbour  promenade into the area, and creates a link to the park. As a result, the apartment blocks sit perpendicular to the two noise sources and direct attention to the interior areas of the apartment complex. In order to ensure the continued flow of pedestrian traffic through the area, the residential zones of the buildings are moved upward allowing the ground floors to be inclusive community areas. Furthermore, the park promenade collides with green urban space that works to promote social interaction. In order to prevent the sound from penetrating into this area, multipurpose acoustic barriers are developed on open sides. Here you will find study areas and recreation rooms for students. Towards the street, a double-layered glazing facade is interrupted by cubic volumes that create a visual link to the park. On the side of the railway, the building is heavily massed and contains small working areas and retreat niches. The student housing blocks are accessed at the point of support,  this circulation space in addition to the various adjoining rooms create a buffer zone to the street.

Within the student housing the unit sizes are varied. Shared flats of different sizes have their own communal area, as well as a loggia. These units can also be combined because adjacent units always have a connection point. Individual apartments can also be incorporated into the shared flats. The blocks at the ends of the complex have a pergola access that act as a sound buffer for the apartments. Apartments designed for families are also incorporated. The flexibility of combinable units allows for a variety of housing configurations that offer a greater level of accommodation for various lifestyles.