The contextual framework of this project is set by a former cemetery, its relicts and a dominating firewall.
In one part ot the St. Petri/St. Marien cemetery we built 23 flats and 3 commercial units in close relationship to the large grounds.
All existing features of the cemetery were maintained: a building used as chapel after the war, the ruins of a chapel, the workshop of a stonemason, other relicts and tombstones.
Core piece of the house is a group of 16 doubleheight units which are closely knitted together like a clockwork over 7 floors. The units are stacked over 7 floors, 5 floors of these units are connected by one single corridor. Spiral staircases in the facade provide a second route and a direct connection the garden with a "summerhouse", a second living room for working, relaxing and a lot of possibilities beyond a normal living room.
The intermediate slab of the unit is made out of timber and can be easily removed or repositioned in accordance with the users needs.
The folding shape of the facade marks the speciality of the former entrance to the cemetary. The wall is extremely thin and made of special plasterboard and insolation.
The acoustic and thermal qualities of this wall are very good.
The folding character of the facade gives a spacial quality to the transition between inside and outside. This is underlined by folding window elements.