Residential and business property Alter Markt – Bielefeld 2016

This project involves construction in a gap between buildings in the historical centre of bielefeld. The site is located in the most prominent position, right next to the late gothic ‘crüwellhaus’, one of the important historical buildings in the city. As a result of the destructions of world war ii, the site only houses a single-storey building which disrupts the homogeneous four and five storey architecture in this part of the historical centre. 

The design proposes a six-storey building that confidently breaks away from the neighbouring historical buildings without interfering with their appearance. It incorporates the different heights of the neighbouring buildings and bridges them by means of a graduated structure. The distance to crüwellhaus on the upper floors leaves the historical gable unaffected. This strategy also allows the inclusion of additional windows on the long side of the building, which enhances the illumination of the floors and simplifies their use. The ground and first floor will be reserved for commercial use, preferably retail. The upper four levels will be residential.