CSH Case Study Hamburg
The house as a set of building blocks: this is the principle behind the CSH Case Study Hamburg: Just as a building set consisting of separate, easily joined parts permits a large number of designs using the prefabricated elements, here too, modules of varying sizes were grouped around the service core and joined together in a process that was akin to a case study. The modules can be joined together both vertically and horizontally to create a variety of different types of apartment. The residents may decide for themselves whether they want to live in apartments on one or two floors (maisonettes) and choose a size between one and four rooms. The Case Study Hamburg was designed by the architectural firm Adjaye Associates, with offices in London, Berlin, and New York.
Versatile and Individual
The advantages of the modular structure used in the Case Study Hamburg are the loose design, the partitioning possibilities afforded by the ground plan, and the arrangement of the individual rooms. This flexible design allows the interior stairs, balconies, and terraces to be largely freely placed. Such versatility is hugely important, as family relationships and professional circumstances are in constant flux, requiring personalised living arrangements.
This tailored approach inside the building is reflected in its exterior. The façade is made of larch wood and the number of windows varies according to the direction they face and the amount of sunshine reaching them, in order to exploit solar energy as fully as possible.
Wood as an Innovative Building Material
The building features a large number of solid wood elements. As a renewable raw material, wood not only has ecological advantages when used in construction, but also makes assembly easier and saves costs. The four stories were fully assembled in four weeks and it was possible to start the interior finishing work straight away. The exterior and apartment walls are made of plywood panels, and a composite structure of wood and concrete spans the supporting walls and allows for generous ceiling span widths. The structure also ensures good sound insulation within the building.
ADDRESS
Am Inselpark 13
21109 Hamburg
SPECIFICATIONS
Beginning of construction:
March 2012
Completion:
January 2013
Project costs:
approx. 1,85 Mio. Euro
Property size:
813 sqm
Gross floor area:
1,100 sqm
Residential unit sizes:
45 – 120 sqm
Energy standard:
EnEV [German 2009 Energy Conservation Act], EnEV 2009 minus 30%
Energy supply:
Integrated Energy Network Wilhelmsburg Central