solar city
Urban design for low energy housing, Münster, Germany

A number of compact and parallel rows of terraced houses are forming the basis of the proposal for this 'Solar City' with 170 housing units. In order to profit from solar gains, most of the terraced houses are facing south and southwest. In relation to the existing buildings north of the site, a block of flats is facing southeast and forms the entrance piazza of the new estate. Part of this public space is a round, mixed use building with a shop and a cafe. A tree lined ’home zone’ leads into the estate. A thirty-five metres wide strip without any buildings forms a ´solar common´. This vast lawn, with little greenery, secures optimised solar gains for the housing, contrasts the density of the estate and offers various leisure facilities for different aged inhabitants. Additionally some existing trees are kept and integrated in the scheme. Although the urban morphology is quite rigid, the design proposal offers various atmospheric qualities i.e. on the piazza, in the tree lined avenue, along existing woodlands and the solar common.

  Project Competition entry
  Date 2000
  Client City of Munster
  Budget  
  Size  






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