Realisation competition for the extension of the Unterallgäu District Office

LOCATION

As a rapidly growing city with regional and supraregional offerings in terms of work, education, health and administration, it seems logical to centralise and sustainably expand the district administration. The surroundings of the existing district office are highly heterogeneous. Neighbourhoods of varying sizes, the hospital next to detached houses, and a diverse range of uses are all linked to this. Service providers and administration alongside healthcare, schools and small-scale housing. The continuous settlement-like construction creates a relatively open impression of space. Roads are lined with rows of trees and mighty individual trees, and gardens open up spatially to the surrounding area. The result is the impression of a neighbourhood with lots of greenery. A significant change in scale is to be expected with the planned expansion of the hospital. The sheer mass creates a new dimension in the neighbourhood. The new district administration office will play the role of mediator in terms of scale and comprehensible atmosphere, as a new building that must provide structure but remain legible as a house.

BUILDING

The existing district administration office building is a structure comprising various building blocks and extensions, all of which adhere to the principle of a five-storey structure with slightly varying eaves. The aim of the design is to develop a structure that is calm in this sense and can be continued in the building blocks, while also being spatially and architecturally convincing in parts. The design is conceived as a growing, clearly organised building that can be constructed sustainably using local building materials and craftsmen. The architecture of a district administration office must be clearly linked to the location, but above all to the region.

DESIGN

The Unterallgäu District Office was intended to demonstrate visitors' emotional connection to the region. In other words, it had to grow out of the region itself. Local expertise in timber construction suggests a timber structure. Regardless of all the fashionable discussions about timber construction for all types of houses, timber construction is the obvious solution for the district office. A simple structure in which wooden beams rest on wooden supports and simply hold exciting stacked board ceiling elements.

SUSTAINABILITY

The design makes its most significant contribution to sustainability through its compact construction. In addition, the courtyard of the first construction phase will be kept free of substructures, allowing for permanent planting with large trees, which will significantly improve the microclimate of the office spaces, especially in summer. The roof areas will be designed as extensively greened retention roofs. Rainwater will be retained here for a long time, evaporating and cooling the surrounding area. Rainwater will also seep away on the property. This also creates cooling evaporation and tolerable working conditions in hot summers. Finally, the chosen timber construction binds large amounts of CO2, supports the local forestry and construction industries, and serves as a model for builders and planners in the district.

This is how we think, manage and build here. Well designed, appropriate in terms of resources, sustainable and future-oriented.