Residential Building ‘Sportplatzring 5-21’,
Hamburg-Stellingen

A residential complex has been built in Hamburg-Stellingen with two contrasting façades that react to the urban surroundings in their atmospheric contrasts. On the street side, a reddish clinker brick ties in with the materiality of the adjacent old Stellingen town hall and gives the building a monolithic, solid character. In contrast to the compactness of this typical regional building material, which creates a building envelope with staircases in front that shields against the dynamics of the sports field ring, the garden façade is light and airy with transparent-looking balconies. These cover the elongated timber-framed building with a wing-like curve, which opens up to the park-like landscape in the south with floor-to-ceiling windows. Depending on the angle of view, the balustrades sometimes make the balconies appear closed, sometimes they allow views and insights through their lamellar structure. The flats on the ground floor have a private garden area with an adjoining terrace. All in all, the garden side benefits from the sound-absorbing function of the building’s transom running along the Sportplatzring, from where the barrier-free access is also provided.

The structured appearance of the building is based on a system of discreet projections and recesses as well as different heights of the three- to six-storey building modules. Thus the 189-metre-long building complex with its loosened volumes blends harmoniously into the urban environment, with the height gradation decreasing towards Stellinger Rathaus and a respectful connection to the existing building fabric. In the eastern section of the building, which has a full basement, 43 underground parking spaces are available to residents. The sculptural approach of the new building ensures the special living quality of the 123 one- to four-person flats.