ghl: The new neighbourhood is located about two kilometers south of Ingolstadt old town, and offers 100 residential and several commercial units. The site of approximately 4,000 square metres, a former shopping centre, is surrounded by large commercial buildings from South and East and detached residential buildings from the North. The new block creates a filter between these different forms and scales: a long closed facade in the East protects the neighbourhood from the noise of the busy street, whereas from the West numerous small-scale L-shaped structures allow the open space to permeate into the centre of the quarter and form a community space.
To ensure that the immediate living environment remains car-free, all aboveground parking spaces for visitors and waste containers are located at the edge of the block. The residents themselves park their cars in the new underground car park. The construction plane was slightly raised in order to mediate between the levels of the surrounding areas. The inner garden plateau has a communal atmosphere and its informal, barrier-free path system connects the buildings and creates a new meeting place – the „Hinteranger“.
The seven L-shaped buildings divide the plateau into a sequence of smaller spaces and through their diversified heights establish gardens of different characters, light conditions and atmospheres.
A silver lime tree accentuates the “Hinteranger” as a communal area. As the biggest open space in the neighbourhood it offers playground equipment and a multifunctional arena for community parties, popular boccia games and other uses. Each building forms a space for a semi-public courtyard, serving as meeting point for residents at the entrance area. The private gardens enclosed by beech hedges belong to the ground floor apartments and are the smallest type of open spaces within the block.
Various materials give character to the footpaths and provide orientation. The outer zones which connect to the streets are paved with a standard material used in the streetscape of Ingolstadt. However, after ascending the stairs or ramps to the garden plateau, one finds oneself on an asphalt pathway leading to the individual courtyards. These smooth surfaces create an ideal track for riding tricycles or inline skating. The semi-private entrance zones are lined with gravel and have either a water bound or asphalt base.
Another connecting element of the common space is the long bench – a prefabricated concrete element that stretches throughout the gardens and functions as a meeting place. Visible from each building the bench invites residents for a neighbourly chit-chat. The space below the bench hides a natural ventilation duct of the underground parking garage.
Each of the courtyards is characterised by a different small house tree with a bench that loops around it. The colours of the benches and the same-coloured perennials give each house its own identity and provide orientation within the settlement. The planting concept picks up the colours of the respective staircases and interlocks interior and exterior spaces. The east-west axis leading to the community square is accompanied by mixed plantings of trees, perennials and grasses. The maintenance of this area is based on the principle of the regular radical cutback, the “Coppicing”. Cut-compatible trees such as staghorn sumac, tulip tree or dogwood form the framework here. The planting strips running in the north-east direction radiate a completely different character. Wild growing, flowering and fruit trees (cornelian cherry, sargent crabapple and lilac) line the paths. The mixture of wildflowers acts like a natural meadow with a blossom peak in early summer.
Role of your office in the project: Landscape Architects: grabner huber lipp
Other designers involved in the design of landscape: BLAUWERK Architekten GmbH, München
Project location: Hinterangerstraße, Ingolstadt, Germany
Design year: 2012
Year Built: 2015-2017
