Hartenbergpark Housing

Mainz, Germany

The design combines 10 000 m2 of publicly-subsidized rental housing and another 10 000 m2 of owner-occupied apartments to form a future-orientated urban development. The urban concept integrates the two different typologies into a socially diverse complex, with a landscaped park designed by Levin Monsigny at its centre.
A total of nine crystal-shaped buildings are positioned in the park, renewing the idea of the urban villa, in both form and positioning, as a contemporary apartment building.
The point of departure for the design is the exceptional natural location of the Hartenbergpark site. The park landscape is extended over the plateau as an identity-forming, green neighbourhood centre around which the urban villas are grouped.
The multi-faceted orientation allows the compact buildings to relate in diverse ways to the surrounding open spaces. A heterogeneous spatial arrangement is achieved through the rotation and mirroring of the volumes, while the precise positioning of the build structures determines the different zones of the open spaces. The buildings are laid out in such a way that their in-between spaces open up towards the environment. A finely structured network of pathways connects the entire park, linking the inner and outer areas, creating barrier-free connections between all buildings, and enclosing the playground and recreation areas at the centre of the neighbourhood.