Housing estate Ahlumer Siedlung, Wolfenbüttel
It seems to me that true taste conceals a moral arcanum.
That is why I believe that aesthetes understand so little of matters of taste, because they approach the issue from the wrong angle. That is, not from the moral angle.
(Jacob Burghardt)
In the run-up to the urban redevelopment of the Ahlumer Siedlung quarter in Wolfenbüttel (cf. ‘Urban development’), two prototypes were developed and realised. The spirit and purpose of the redevelopment was to improve the existing homogeneous structural characteristics (age and social structures) by creating new buildings, thus revitalising the quarter.
It was necessary to classify the existing buildings as obsolete, based on their structural features in terms of both social issues and energy efficiency. The costs per square metre of renovation were similar to those for starting from scratch.
The proposal put forward was for clear and simply contoured 3-storey houses with attics, in pairs of similar apartment types (homogeneity in the building, heterogeneity in the block).
It was only at the flying roof level that the layout was varied slightly (non-luxury penthouses).
The design approach in favour of clarity and simplicity – the individual house is insignificant, the ensemble everything – was pursued consistently, also when designing the façade (surface-treated perforated façade).
It was possible to keep well within the forecast budget. One of the elements which made this possible was that the commission was awarded to a general contractor from Bremen, whose bid was considerably lower than the local norm.
This meant that we were able to meet our objectives of providing good, serviceable homes at socially acceptable prices.