DIE HOFSIEDLUNG
Regensburg (DE) - Special Mention
TEAM PORTRAIT
VIDEO (by the team)
INTERVIEW
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1. How do you define the main issue of your project in relation with the theme “Living Cities Imagining architecture taking care of the milieus”? And in which way do you think your project can contribute to an ecological and/or social evolution?
‘Die Hofsiedlung’ suggests a sustainable and future-proof method to redevelop the modernist housing complex in Regensburg. The reconfiguration of the site's open spaces has an effect on buildings in need of transformation, introducing a new system of relationships between buildings and public space. Furthermore, each new layout defines simple typologies yet adaptable to a broader mix of residents.
2. How did the issues of your design and the questions raised by the site mutation meet?
Our project proposal starts with a careful evaluation of the available resources, and exposes an urban potential that is already there. By reading the site as a sequence of open courtyards, each operation on the existing (and new) buildings allows them to work as a homogeneous system.
PROJECT:
During our previous working experiences across Europe, each of us happened to deal with similar cases such as the transformation of modernist complexes with a critical impact on the city. Our approach developed from projects such as the ZEN II garden in Palermo by Coloco, the R50 cohousing by ifau, Herzog de Meuron’s student housing in Dijon and many others.
SITE:
One of the fundamental aspects of the project was to develop a methodology that could be clarified through a shared process of implementation. From the urban approach and shared facilities to the apartment units, a multitude of strategies can evolve during further developments with local actors.
REFERENCES:
Having known each other between Milan and Brussels, and realising that we share interests and fascinations, we thought European was a great occasion to start this collaboration.
6. How could this prize help you in your professional career?
It is surely a big opportunity, and it gives us the boost to continue working and researching around similar topics.
TEAM IDENTITY
Legal status: Association between professionals
Team name: (ab)Normal + Federico Taverna
Average age of the associates: 30 years old
Has your team, together or separately, already conceived or implemented some projects and/or won any competition? if so, which ones?
Among other projects, the team members recently won competitions for a library in Milan, a archives and exhibition space for a fashion school in Florence, and a social housing competition in Flanders, Belgium.
