Bebelallee was built after the First World War according to plans by Fritz Schumacher and was part of the urban development as part of the canalization of the Alster river, which had been underway since 1870. To this day, it is characterized by street-side townhouse and villa architecture, including a number of brick buildings by well-known Hamburg architects such as Fritz Höger or Elingius & Schramm from the 1920s. In 1975, a block of 12 residential units was built in the Alsterdorf section of Bebelallee, which, unlike the surrounding houses, is set back from the street at an almost right angle. A covered parking lot formed the entrance to the property. The whole thing looked like a foreign body in the homogeneous neighboring buildings.

Prasch Buken Partner Architekten BDA succeeded in creating an aesthetically and functionally convincing redensification and thus closing an important urban gap. The new building extends the existing building in the direction of Bebelallee and is widened along the street. As a result, the building lines of the neighboring buildings are taken up. The now wider building is designed as two small, villa-like structures with a separating building joint. Its staggered storey is set back as far as possible so that the prevailing two-storey structure is visually retained on the street side. In this way, the new building blends harmoniously into the villa structure. The materiality and design language as well as the red brick elements and storey heights of the existing building were incorporated and interpreted in a contemporary way. Ten new privately financed residential units were created as two- to three-room apartments with around 60 to 85 m² of living space. An underground garage in the new basement replaces the old parking facility.

Sustainable synergies were achieved through targeted modernization of the building services, the use of the infrastructure and securing the grey energy of the existing building. The existing staircase now connects old and new, and the elevator was redesigned to provide barrier-free access to the existing and new apartments. The quality of living in the existing building has been improved. The new building was constructed using masonry construction and in accordance with the requirements of the Building Energy Act. A retention roof and a photovoltaic system were installed, and valuable building materials were used that can be reused. The project received an award at the Callwey Award "Residential Buildings of the Year 2024" in the "redensification" category.

www.pbp.hamburg

Photos:

Daniel Sumesgutner
www.sumesgutner.de

(Published in CUBE Hamburg 01|25)