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QUATERTOWER in Augsburg

Competition. First Prize. Mixed use building (comercial + office + housing)
Augsburg, Germany

this is the baKpak of the building

A competition in Germany, open internationally. Its aim is the design of a representative “Quatertower” in the center of Augsburg, Munich. The building must hold a series of offices and commercial businesses in its first three floors and luxury housing in the rest of the building. The design should include fundamentally creative, technologically, innovative and functional aspects.

The project will be located in the eastern edge of the historical center of Augsburg, within the old textile neighborhood of the metropolis, now converted into an area with a high component of cultural and creative activity. The importance of the project and the reasoning behind the organization of this competition is that this building has to become a landmark in the landscape that visually connects the historical and the cultural center of the city. A unique building with regards to height in this area of ​​the city and, therefore, a new landmark in the landscape.

The Urban Space

The Augsburger Textilviertel is currently one of the most innovative developing areas in Fuggerstadt. In the vicinity of the city center to the west, buildings such as the yarn spinning machine or the remains of the Schüle’schen Kattunfabrik not only contain numerous architectural witnesses of the former textile metropolis, but, after decades of lethargy, a new creative neighborhood for life and business. Located at the corner of Nagahama Avenue and Provinos Street, the Quatertower is presented as a sculptural landmark of new life in the textile district. From the south of the city, the green belt continues to the Quatertower as a protection zone to the busy Nagahama Avenue. In the new building rises Provinostrasse and the Textile Quarter, creating an open space for the neighborhood that invites the citizen to stay.

The Building

The concept of the building is based on the negation of the city planning itself, which proposed a continuous tower with a strict volumetry and adapted little to the context. Our project presents the opposite concept. A set of boxes of four heights that are stacking and decentering creates a free and innovative volume that adapts in the basement to the old adjoining buildings and to the main views towards the historic center of Augsburg. This set of moving volumes are broken by the openings of the terraces of the apartments that, placed on the south-west edge of the building, offers greater lighting and the best views of the historic heart of the city.

Mirror of the diversity of its surroundings, the Quatertower offers in its inner space very different functionalities. Starting from a semi-public and commercial reception area on the ground floor, there are 11 levels stacked one on top of the other, of offices and residential units. In this way, a wide variety of businesses can be launched, from an open concept office to small think tanks and common workspaces.

Thanks to its structural core where elevators and stairs are located, the rest of the floor allows adapting to different situations using the modular rule and, therefore, providing great flexibility. In the basement, the underground parking provides the necessary space. In the residential segment, a varied typology is also possible, from the classic two-room apartment or a student residence in the lower area to living in individual apartments in the upper area of the tower.

 

Coherency with the enviroment

Towards the outside, the Quatertower fits with its enviroment. The jumps and cantilevers break the compact mass of the building and create a scale of connection with the surrounding context. The setback on the fourth floor not only keeps the limits of the building, but also adjusts to the scale of the neighboring buildings along Nagahama-Allee and, at the same time, generates a wide panoramic terrace.

The building also adapts in its materiality and coloration. Its ventilated curtain wall façade, made of large ceramic format panels correspond in color to the other buildings of the textile district. The two different types of enameled ceramic is reminiscent of the fabric patterns that, in combination with the stepped window openings, creates an elegant façade set. The proportion of opaque and transparent surfaces is optimized mainly for residential use, but also allows other programs. Large windows and doors are designed on the balconies that allow plenty of natural light.

Project: Quatertower

Client: Private

Stage: Competition, First Prize

Location: Augsburg, Germany

Area: 57.000 m2

Budget: – €

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BAKPAK Architects + ALN (ARCHITEKTURBÜRO LEINHÄUPL + NEUBER GMBH)

Arquitectos: Borja Navarro Ibáñez de Aldecoa, José De la Peña Gómez Millán, José María González Chamorro, José A Pavón González, Myriam Rego Gómez + Markus Neuber, Barbara Neuber y Peter Leinhäupl.

Colaborators: Valentina Damián, Rocío Fdez. Soler