New Apostolic Church commissions CANZLER as general planner

The New Apostolic Church of West Germany has commissioned CANZLER with the general planning for a challenging new residential building in Darmstadt. Canzler is responsible for planning, tendering, awarding and site supervision in accordance with work phases 1 to 8 of the HOAI. One challenge is to close the gap between the buildings with a projection in the alignment of the street. In spite of the large plot size, sustainable and climate-friendly aspects were taken into account. Construction began at the end of September 2022, completion is planned for April 2024.

 

Where the congregation hall of the New Apostolic Church (NAK) was located at Adelungstraße 18 in Mollerstadt, a new building with 24 flats totalling 1,640 sqm and a shop area of around 100 sqm is being constructed. A mix of 2-, 3- and 4-room flats is planned; five of them will be barrier-free.

 

With mixed teams from the trades of architecture, technical building equipment and electrical planning, CANZLER covers many areas itself. This allows complex planning tasks to be taken into account across all trades right from the start of the project. In view of the inner-city location with perimeter block development and tight space conditions due to maximum possible space utilisation, not only the architecture is challenging, but also the technical building equipment and the upcoming construction work.

 

Closing the urban gap

To close the gap between the buildings and the street frontage, the architects designed a new two-part building. The building facing Adelungstraße takes up the eaves heights of the neighbouring buildings with two setbacks. It has a high-quality façade and extends over five floors plus a staggered storey. The rear building, on the other hand, extends into the depths of the building plot and descends by means of a staggered storey on the third floor and a roof garden above. Both buildings are accessed via a common staircase with a lift system. Tenants without their own balcony have access to a shared roof terrace via the staircase. Due to the inner-city location and Darmstadt's new parking space statutes, only eleven car parking spaces are planned, but around 60 bicycle parking spaces. "With the staggered structure facing the inner courtyards, the building blends harmoniously into its surroundings," explains Gerold Menzel, CANZLER's architect in charge of the project. "In addition, we are creating inner-city living space through the redensification, which at the same time contributes to a qualitative upgrading of the Mollerstadt, which was confirmed by the design advisory board of the city of Darmstadt in its assessment regarding redensification and qualification of the appearance."

 

 

High plot utilisation - sustainable at the same time

With a planned building ground area of 2,368 sqm above ground and 668 sqm below ground, the 946 sqm plot is largely sealed, which does not conflict with a sustainably good microclimate: greenery is maximised by means of terraced roof gardens on both buildings and lawns in the courtyard. In addition, the rainwater seeps into an infiltration trench and is fed into the groundwater via a gravel reservoir.

 

"A good microclimate in city centres is becoming increasingly important," Menzel explains. "Our approach aims to use the project to also encourage the neighbourhood to green the inner courtyards/backyards in the medium to long term." In order to reduce CO2 emissions, the residential building will be designed as a KFW Efficiency House 55 and will have a combined heat and power unit to generate electricity and heat. The infrastructure for e-mobility is provided in the underground car park.