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Opus C - Giving a face to living space - 3 Pages
2_OpusC_1004_archi_13-41_en.qxp:Opus C.03.06
11.08.2010
15:37 Uhr
Seite 34
Giving a face to living space
architecture
Photographic concrete for Heidelberg’s Gutenberghöfe
In former times, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG constructed precision
machines for letterpress printing and administered the globally active
corporation on this 8,400 square metre terrain. Today, 13 multiple dwelling
units can be found there which relate to the site’s history through numerous
details. On each of two exterior façades can be seen a portrait of Johannes
Gutenberg that was inserted into the facing concrete with the aid of
photographic matrices.
The plot of land has belonged since 1896 to Heidelberger Druckmaschinen – today, a global corporation.
At that time, the company moved within Germany
from Frankenthal in the Palatinate to Heidelberg and
manufactured various products. In the course of the
years, the firm specialised in the area of letterpress
printing and produced precision machines which
brought it a good name on the world’s markets. After
its successful yet turbulent role in the company’s
history, the land was sold to Hochtief Projektentwicklung. In 2004, Hochtief decided that the site should be
opus C ❘ 4.2010
transformed into a residential area. To this end, they
launched a competition which was won by ap88, a
Heidelberg architects’ office. The architects’ design
envisaged 13 houses with approximately 170 dwelling
units plus an underground car park.
A residential area with charm
In their conceptual design for the area, the architects
set great store on creating a city district with a high
standard of living quality. With a view to attaining
this, they planned a block perimeter construction
giving rise to an enclosed inner courtyard. This main
inner courtyard is then divided by the arrangement of
the buildings into four smaller courtyards. These then
take on their own particular character due to their
differing composition.
That fact that each of the 13 houses is named after a
well-known character font helps the inhabitants
identify with their residential district. The buildings
are called Avenir, Helvetica or Nimbus, for example.
This is in remembrance of Johannes Gutenberg, the
inventor of the printing press with moveable letters
and thus also a reminder of the terrain’s former use. A
further direct reference to the old patrician, who was
born about 1400, is made on two street façades in the
residential district. There, Gutenberg’s portrait can be
seen as a relief in facing concrete slabs. This relief was
created using a photographic concrete technique and
consists of lines of differing width and depth, whose
shadow generates the impression of a picture. Special
formwork matrices were employed to structure the
facing concrete slabs in this way. Concrete could be
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2_OpusC_1004_archi_13-41_en.qxp:Opus C.03.0611.08.201015:37 UhrSeite 35BUpoured over them once they had been laid or gluedinto the formwork. As soon as... -
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2_OpusC_1004_archi_13-41_en.qxp:Opus C.03.0611.08.201015:37 UhrSeite 36Good ideasfor lightweight concreteArtificial stone – stone artThis good advice...
