Urban regeneration has been a key aspect of China’s sustainability-focused urban planning policy since 2021. This year, Gerber Architekten is a guest of Paper Urban Regeneration Month, the first series of events in China on the topic of urban regeneration.
At the invitation of the International Expert Forum, Marius Ryrko took part in the opening plenary discussion on global modernisation and urbanisation processes. Our approaches and methods for sustainable urban development can still be seen as a supporting programme in Zhangyuan, Shanghai, until 12 January 2024. In addition to several of our German reference projects, current projects in China are also presented, including our healthcare complex currently under construction in Shenzhen, which includes an 800-bed clinic, a university area for 2,000 students and a training centre for medical professions. Another project, our Jinan Jinshi Centre, was recognised as an “Innovative Office Project” 2023 on the Paper Urban Regeneration Annual List.
The official start of construction for the Christian Hospital in Quakenbrück was celebrated with a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony on December 15, 2023. According to plans by Gerber Architekten, the hospital, which opened in 1977, will receive a new ward block for 110 patients with adjoining rooms and the option to extend by a further floor. The integrated sluice situations take account of the increase in infectious diseases.
The new patient rooms are arranged around a centrally located nursing service area and offer a view of the green surroundings. Two atriums provide a natural lighting situation within the new ward block. The project also includes the restructuring of a new main entrance to the central hospital and a distribution area.
This will give the Christian Hospital Quakenbrück sufficient space for modern patient care and will welcome its visitors and patients with a new, clear entrance situation in future. The colour scheme of the façade of the new ward block is a deliberate reference to the previous psychiatric and psychosomatic projects that have already been implemented. We are delighted to be helping to shape the hospital in Quakenbrück once again with this project.
The architectural community experienced a stimulating time at the “Future Lab” of the Architecture Biennale 2023 this year. Gerber Architects was also represented with the exhibition “In Context: Architecture + Landscape” at Palazzo Bembo. Our exhibition not only emphasized the diversity and depth of contemporary architecture and landscape architecture but also explored the close connection between space, time, and our existence. This opportunity allowed us to share our creative ideas and innovative approaches with the audience.
Throughout the duration of the exhibition, we organized various events that led to an exciting and valuable exchange across professional boundaries. Particularly noteworthy was the event with the German Academy for Urban and Regional Planning (DASL) and international participants. In inspiring lectures, landscape architects and architects shared their visions and experiences. November 26 marked the finissage of our exhibition. On this special day, we would like to express our sincere thanks to ECC for organizing our exhibition. Numerous meaningful conversations, the award ceremony, and effective collaboration significantly contributed to the success of our participation. The Architecture Biennale 2023 will be remembered by us as a time of creative exchange, inspiration, and the development of new ideas and visions.
The article on Focus Online provides an insight into the history and development of the event hall, whose striking, cantilevered roof at the main entrance was designed by Gerber Architekten.
The arched, wooden roof structures above the symmetrically arranged exhibition halls not only enable efficient use of space, but also create an inviting architecture that integrates the Black Forest landscape into the trade fair experience.
Since the completion of our project 20 years ago, more than 1800 events have taken place, attracting around 10 million guests. Today, the exhibition center is regarded as a central meeting point for trade fairs, congresses and events. It welcomes up to 750,000 visitors and around 8,000 exhibitors every year, including international participants.
Messe Karlsruhe is not only a place of innovation, but also a symbol of economic success in the region. We would like to congratulate the company on its 20th anniversary and look forward to many more successful years as a partner in the realization of forward-looking event venues.
The article can be accessed via the following link:
© Gerber Architekten
The competition brief was complex: a historic villa was to be renovated, the outdoor facilities restored and a new laboratory building and greenhouses built in the listed ensemble of the Thünen Institute. In the restricted competition, our design impressed with its flowing transition to the park and its largely single-storey design. The new laboratory building forms a U-shaped unit with the greenhouses and creates a large open space. The natural outdoor space is connected to the interior via a circumferential glazing and the view to the neighbouring arboretum is opened up. With its clear geometry and functionality, the new ensemble allows the historic park to take centre stage. “In a natural and convincing way, the design is able to trace and strengthen the spirit of the place,” was the judgement of the jury.
Our project is characterized by a unique design in which two contrasting facades merge together. On the street side, a reddish clinker brick is reminiscent of the adjacent Stellingen town hall, while the garden façade with transparent balconies creates a light and airy ambience. Thanks to clever projections and recesses as well as different staggered heights, the building complex, which is over 190 meters long, blends harmoniously into its surroundings and offers 123 one- to four-room apartments of exceptional quality. The sound-absorbing function along the sports field ring also ensures additional living comfort.
The new building not only contributes to the identity of our city, but also improves the quality of life of its residents. It is an example of how architecture can have a positive influence on urban development and the social fabric.
Our thanks go to SAGA Siedlungs-Aktiengesellschaft Hamburg, our committed client, and the entire team that worked on this project. This award is recognition of our efforts to shape the future of housing.
Together we are shaping the future of modern living and making a lasting mark on the city of Hamburg.
© Gerber Architekten
As part of the modernisation of Vienna’s clinics, an EU-wide open design competition has been held for the overall development of the Hietzing Clinic. The first clinic founded by the City of Vienna is not only to be rebuilt, but also changed in terms of content and organisation.
Our design for the overall development is conceived as a sustainably designed hospital landscape. The 830-bed hospital concept is characterised by short distances and its integration into the large hospital park. Four storeys for examination and treatment form a base on which three and two-storey bands of nursing wards are arranged in a loop. A magistral cascading according to the topography of the site forms the “heart” of the new central building. The four connected nursing wards are thus linked to a central ward hub. In the spirit of “healing architecture”, the different natural spaces of the hospital park are integrated and continued into the southern depths of the building via 3 inner courtyards planted as main orientation and access bays.
Gerber Architekten has won the VGV procedure for the extension of the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen. The Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics conducts research into information processing in the human and animal brain. It is part of the Max Planck Campus in Tübingen, where over 1200 employees work and conduct research.
Our expansion concept includes a new institute building and a highly hygienic animal facility. The compact institute building is clearly structured. A foyer hall in the centre is adjoined to the north by the flexibly usable laboratory area and to the south by the office wing arranged around a green inner courtyard. An interior bridge structure provides the connection to the high hygiene animal husbandry and from there to the existing stable building.
The entrance to the main building is located in a visual axis with the old observatory and the planetary park, which merge into one another via a landscape staircase. From the generously glazed foyer as a place for internal communication within the institute, visitors are led to the centre of the campus. This clear and rational structuring and integration represents the core idea of the design.