Residential houses in Stuttgart Heslach
Robust shell for optional appropriation

Land for building in Germany's conurbations is becoming increasingly expensive. That is why building costs have to be kept low, and houses have to be designed in a way that they offer space for living and working in equal measure and remain functional over a long period of time whether we live in them with children or without, as a family, a flat-sharing community or in other constellations.

Because the site - one of the last remaining vacant areas in the district - is steeply sloping and the building is dug into the hillside, concrete was a logical choice of material, which also offered the possibility of keeping construction costs low with prefabricated elements. These conditions are expressed in the material and construction of the house; the detailing and the joint pattern show the way the components are joined honestly. Walls, ceilings and floors show the concrete, contrasted by the warm wood tones of the fixtures.

The floor plans were to be designed in such a way that they make living and working equally possible. The demands on the flat change over the course of a lifetime. If it was clear that at the time of moving in, each house would be occupied by a young family, it was equally obvious that the children are going to grow up eventually and move out. So the floor plans had to be adaptive and adaptable to the changing circumstances of life. Living in old age, in shared apartments with other adults or separating and renting out individual floors should remain possible.

To this end, the place in the house should remain perceptible. Stuttgart is characterized by its hills, and at this point the city is also beautifully green. Views over the city and private open spaces should be created.