Living with a sense of community

The "Villa Pillebach" in Gerresheim combines individual living with a clear form

When designing for building groups, architects often walk a fine line between the individual wishes of the clients and an overarching, designed unit. Twelve young or prospective families, who had been looking for suitable living space for years, came together to form a building group and commissioned Georg Döring Architekten from Düsseldorf with the design and implementation planning of the apartment building. The "Villa Pillebach" was built on the plot in Gerresheim - geographically close to the stream of the same name, with individual residential units, communal areas and a harmonious design.

No two apartments in the "Villa Pillebach" are the same, as each apartment is specially adapted to the needs of the owners. There are both single-storey and maisonette apartments. All of them can also be flexibly divided to suit the needs of the elderly. The twelve residential units have living spaces ranging from 100 to 150 m², each divided into three to five rooms. Despite this individuality, the result is an ensemble that is clear and uniform on the outside. The internal access, to which all the apartments are connected, is via a large central corridor, staged as a "play street". There is also a two-storey common room, which is temporarily available to the community as a guest apartment. The three-storey building with a basement in waterproof concrete has two atriums that create a meander from the structure. This ensures that the adjoining residential units receive optimized, three-sided lighting. To ensure that the building group has the largest possible outdoor area available as a communal garden, the compact building volume was planned on the building boundary to the street or to a footpath and cycle path. The garden of the building group directly adjoins that of the neighbor, separated by an access path to the playground, which is located in the center of both plots. The façade of the building has been given a friendly, light blue rendered surface, which is enlivened by a horizontal broom finish. The windows, made of dark meranti wood, contrast strongly with the lighter façade color. The relatively large façade openings provide the best possible lighting and follow an internal function: separate window types are provided for children's rooms, bedrooms and living rooms. The residents have covered parking spaces and a bicycle garage at their disposal. The building, planned and realized as a KfW55 efficiency house, relies on an air heat pump installed on the roof for energy efficiency.

www.doering-architekten.de