New Residential Complex on Obere Pfalzgrafstraße "Erna Angerbach wohnt im Grünen"

The city of Freising intends to construct a municipal, climate-adapted, and affordable housing development with open spaces on centrally located municipal properties in the Upper Pfalzgrafstraße area as part of the model project "Climate Adaptation in Housing Construction" by the Bavarian State Ministry of Housing, Construction, and Transport. Therefor, a non-public design competition was announced, in which our office, together with BIERBAUM.AICHELE.landscape architects, was able to achieve the 2nd prize.

The responsibility of "climate adaptation in residential construction" takes into account the existing valuable tree population and follows a diverse, heterogeneous building structure through a scattered placement of building volumes. This allows for optimal ventilation of the area and the influx of cold air into the existing areas.
Wood as a renewable resource, CO2-free energy generation, and compact and energy-efficient construction methods make an effective contribution to climate-friendly building. The grouped arrangement of building plots allows for adaptation of the housing supply to changing demand and enables phased implementation.

The goal of the area development is to create sustainable traffic conditions in the residential neighborhood, strengthen the existing natural landscape, and promote the concept of a neighborhood-based, scale-appropriate city.

The buildings of the "new green residential quarter" integrate gently into the future open meadow landscape north of the Angerbach while preserving the partly imposing, vital, and above all space-defining tree population.

The pilot project for climate-adaptive living aims to withstand and better cope with future progressive climate cycles and extreme weather events. Primarily, the microclimate is significantly improved, making heatwaves, heavy rainfalls, and prolonged rain events easier to manage. Increasing biodiversity and species diversity are floristic-faunistic and gradual developmental processes resulting from the overall concept of climate-adaptive living.

The area comprises different landscape elements in a balanced composition. Groups of trees, large individual trees, open meadows, and the south-running Angerbach with its accompanying tree population are all present. Open, sunny, shaded, and shadowy areas regulate different temperature parameters and control the climatic microcycle. Important cold air corridors from the Isar Valley can flow effortlessly through the residential area down to the Auerbach due to the scattered construction.

LAND USE DESEALING

The apartments in the buildings are accessed through staircases with elevators, creating an efficient ratio of living area to circulation area. Compact buildings were designed to minimize land use. The multifunctional building is also designed as a split-level system, saving space and minimizing the area consumed.

The new buildings are mainly positioned within the existing buildings to preserve green areas. Desealing is achieved, and the sealed surfaces and traffic routes are limited to a necessary minimum. In addition to preserving and expanding existing green areas and tree population, roof greening and building plantings are used to compensate for land use and improve the microclimate.

ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT

The new 4-5 story buildings are grouped as formative structures around their village green. The differentiated wooden facades with their varying colors create a related and yet diverse appearance. The choice of materials corresponds to the requirements and creates an appropriateness to the location.

The facades with vertically oriented wooden slats are lightly stained in different shades. Curtains in the loggia area contribute to the homely character of the buildings and create an intriguing facade play as a moment of movement within the static structure. French windows provide barrier-free views of the natural landscape.

LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING CONCEPT

The new differentiated, punctiform building structures mostly occupy the former built-up areas while maintaining the necessary distance from the valuable tree population. Large open meadows not only offer versatile usability but also serve as primary retention areas. Two village greens are formed, around which three building structures are arranged each. The Obere Pfalzgrafstraße is connected as an access road to the Isarstraße and leads traffic-calmed through the eastern green space using the "shared space" traffic concept.

The village greens are intended as a variation of the classic rural village square structure in Bavaria. Seating elements and meadow areas, along with the open meadows and the streamside zone of the Angerbach, are meant to become places with high amenity value.

The course of the Angerbach is revived through renaturation measures, turning it into a biotope for a flowing stream, which can be observed from a certain distance from the cycling and walking path above. Play areas enhance and accompany this path along the stream.

RAINWATER MANAGEMENT

Retention areas are designated to hold rainwater during heavy rainfall events. For example, the roof areas are designed with intensive or extensive green roofs. Other options for retention include the installation of retention cisterns and rainwater storage systems. Rainwater will also be used as non-potable water for toilet flushing and irrigation of green areas. Additional cisterns must be provided accordingly.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND FINISHES

Due to the requirements for energy-efficient construction, high energy quality of the buildings, and the overall goal of using a high proportion of renewable resources, the buildings are predominantly constructed and finished using wood.

BUILDING ENVELOPES

The planned timber construction meets high insulation standards, ensuring excellent winter thermal insulation. The principle of ventilated facades, combined with external sun protection (track-guided vertical blinds), achieves excellent summer thermal insulation. Extensively greened roof areas, combined with photovoltaic systems for green roofs, improve summer heat protection in the roof area.

ECONOMIC VIABILITY

Buildings with simple geometries, recurring identical components, consistently superimposed load-bearing structures, and shafts have been planned. By employing serial and standardized construction methods with a high level of industrial prefabrication in timber construction, economically viable buildings can be realized within a short construction period.

REUSE OF PARKING SPACE AREAS IN THE MULTIFUNCTIONAL BUILDING

The multifunctional building is designed like a shelving system into which industrially prefabricated, serial, and standardized timber modules can be inserted. The top two floors have already been planned as apartments, illustrating the principle. The flexible structure can adapt to different parking and/or residential requirements, allowing for incremental expansion.

EXCERPT FROM THE JURY PROTOCOL

"The design of a green interior, which is functionally, ecologically, and spatially closely connected to the overarching green connection of the Angerbach, is particularly noteworthy. The central green space is created by completely retracting the existing neighborhood access and reducing it to two points of connection to Isarstraße and western Obere Pfalzgrafstraße. The jury sees this as extremely positive. However, the connection of the few residential buildings via the eastern village square to the eastern Obere Pfalzgrafstraße needs to be revised to reduce excessive through traffic and ensure the quality of stay at the village square. The two village squares create clear addressing and are considered positive social meeting points for the neighborhood."

"The housing offering in the multifunctional building is very pleasing and fully meets the client's expectations. The maisonettes are particularly welcomed and can be included as a special form of housing in the funding landscape in this case."

"The work convinces with its urban setting and the resulting open spaces, which are seen as an enhancement for the entire neighborhood and beyond in sociocultural terms; good neighborhoods can be expected. The urban structure promotes good ventilation, although the lack of tree plantings has a negative impact on the microclimate in the neighborhood. The valuable tree population can largely be preserved, and individual heat hotspots can be remedied through additional tree plantings. The central multifunctional retention area creates different areas for relaxation with a pleasant microclimate. For further development, the facade design should explore options for ground-level greening."

"The proposed energy concept is coherent. The planned implementation in timber frame construction is evaluated positively. Overall, the work represents a very good contribution to the given task."