The current suburban development along Esslinger street and Heidenheimer street will not be deprived of its unique location in the course of the design, but will rather experience an upgrading for modern living on the outskirts of the city. Through a qualification of both streets’ space with generous green and retention areas, the upgrading of the street space, which is transformed from a pure traffic area to recreational space, creates an added value for existing residents, a clear regional formation and a strong identity of the place while incorporating the existing settlement. Besides, this space is integrated by a close-meshed network of walking and cycle paths, which ensure short routes into the landscape.

The new edge of the village along Esslinger street is characterized by a great openness, which provides numerous pathways and allows for visual relationships. In this plan, the building ensembles are oriented either towards communal courtyard areas that serve as meeting points in the neighborhood, access points and transition to the surrounding landscape. While the courtyards are lined with attractive two to three-story apartment buildings, ensembles of three-row houses each are proposed for the residential streets, which spatially enclose the street space and frame the view into nature. Residents are allowed expansive views of the surrounding hilly landscape from the attractive roof terraces. Accordingly, these very clear regional structures are possible to characterize the public open space and the private gardens equally. Public and semi-public open spaces, moreover, are designed to be open and permeable, giving the impression of rural meadows that create a fluid transition to the surrounding area.

Year: 2021

Type: Planning Magazine

Publisher: CAPress I Concept No.266

Project: Karlsruhe Gruenwettersbach Masterplan Design Competition

Client: City of Karlsruhe, Germany

Team: BAEK Architekten + Stefan Tischer Landschaftsarchitektur