Living Neighbourhood – Creating Community

An inclusive housing community featuring a café, diverse living spaces, a rooftop terrace, and a verdant central courtyard

"Living the way I want!" This guiding principle shaped an inclusive housing project at a modern residential complex in Furtwangen. Here, everyone lives together: people with and without disabilities, young and old, singles, couples, and families. Each resident contributes according to their abilities and supports their neighbours in meaningful ways. The building's form and timber façade integrate seamlessly with the surrounding urban landscape. Situated in Furtwangen's city centre, the location is strategically sound: daily necessities are just steps away, yet residents enjoy proximity to nature. Affordable housing in central locations remains scarce for young families, single parents, and seniors—often forcing people to relocate elsewhere. The city administration recognises that fostering diversity and vitality strengthens its character. After all, it is these varied age groups and backgrounds that truly enliven a community.

Two distinct building volumes—a linear bar and a solitary tower—are unified by a glass gallery: the "green centre." Together with the expansive roof terrace, this connective space nurtures community interaction and dialogue. The gallery features landscaping and community gathering areas on every level. The ground floor houses a social services day care facility and public accessible restrooms. The integrative café, with generous seating, opens directly onto the neighbourhood plaza, complete with a water feature. For larger events, residents can rent the adjacent community room alongside the café. The social services offices and administration occupy select ground floor areas and portions of the first floor in the tower building. The fully accessible residential complex contains 29 apartments in total. All entrances and units meet barrier-free standards, with several designed for wheelchair accessibility. A dedicated five-person shared apartment for residents with disabilities occupies approximately 215 m². The remaining one- to four-bedroom units address diverse housing needs. Thoughtfully designed open-plan layouts offer living spaces ranging from 34 to 115 m².

The primary structural framework employs cast-in-place concrete, with slender sections of just 17 cm instead of the typical 24 cm—a design choice that conserves valuable resources. Exterior and interior walls throughout are timber construction, as are the windows and façade, creating a cohesive material expression. The building achieves KfW Efficiency Standard 40. A combined heat and power plant paired with solar panels provide residents with self-generated energy through an innovative tenant electricity model.

www.kuner-architekten.de