Sacker Architekten

Description

The «Old Dairy» provides an answer to the question of how old, derelict commercial sites can be converted for residential use and at the same time how existing neighbourhoods can be densified in a way that is compatible with urban development. An integral part of the project was the integration of a care facility run by Arbeiterwohlfahrt and an assisted living facility. There is also a day-care centre for around 100 children. The common courtyard becomes a connecting open space for all users and residents, in which the nursing home on the neighbouring property can also participate. The site is exposed to strong noise emissions from three sides, which was a key factor in the arrangement of the building volumes and the organisation of the floor plans. The dairy yard consists of a generous square area. By leaving out parking spaces, the planted trees can take root directly in the soil and grow well. The generous open spaces of the day-care centre are arranged on the east and southwest sides of the site. A two-storey plinth forms a sheltered inner courtyard and raises the residential use well above street level. Arcades form an additional sound buffer for the flats. The staggered heights of the residential buildings respond to the adjacent urban situation. All flats receive daylight from at least two sides. The high-rise forms a further building block in the «Stadtkrone», or «city crown», a sequence of high points in Pforzheim’s city centre.