Development of the Mariabrunnstraße and Weberstraße residential district in Aachen

1st prize

The new neighbourhood occupies a location that is also defined by its characteristic topography. At the top, on Weberstraße, a closed development accompanies the street space. The garden area slopes steeply to the southwest and then forms a slightly flatter terrain towards Mariabrunnstraße. The former use of the land as allotments can still be sensed in the diverse vegetation that remains today.

The location also appears very diverse due to its heterogeneous setting in the urban space. The small Mariabrunnstraße is the nominal address. The somewhat improvised-looking urban space at this point calls into question the block layout. If one thinks of the neighbourhood from the access point on Marienbrunner Straße, it forms an inscription, a kind of garden setting.

The location also appears very diverse due to its heterogeneous setting in the urban space. The small Mariabrunnstraße is the nominal address. The somewhat improvised-looking urban space at this point calls into question the block layout. If one thinks of the neighbourhood from the entrance on Marienbrunner Straße, it forms an inscription, a kind of garden setting.
This characterisation also coincides with the demands for an overall open construction method in favour of a flow of cooling air and its regeneration on site.

The PLAN is a response to this perception. The existing neighbourhood is being rounded off. A consistent description of the garden, which is entered from the south and opens up widely for residents, nursery children and staff, offering an attractive spatial impression. At the top, on Weberstraße, a new address is being determined. A six-storey building forms a landmark for the neighbourhood, marking the bridge over the railway and the transition to the hospital district. The building also creates a new address for potential residential and work spaces, as well as an entrance to the apartments in the north-east, which all open onto the garden to the south. These can be conceived either as maisonettes with an exterior street or as a classic pergola with several smaller units.
The building block on Mariabrunnstraße provides an address for the daycare centre and commercial or research uses. At the same time, the shape of the building shows the way into the neighbourhood and creates access points on both sides that lead to the entrances of the garden houses. Three similar buildings confidently mediate between the existing garden courtyard of the buildings on Weberstraße and the new green space being created to the south. This open spatial approach reinforces the character of living in the garden.