Vier Häuser Potsdam

The new construction strengthens the community of commercial users, residents and students who share the impressive ensemble of four buildings. The striking double gable and the brick pilasters below give it a strong presence on "Am Kanal" street in Potsdam.

The design of the four buildings follows the specifications of the existing development plan. Here, the positioning of the buildings on the plots, the number of storeys and the arrangement of the eaves and ridge lines are precisely defined. Only the building on plot 1 slightly exceeds the ridge height of the main gable. The specifications of the development plan logically result in four different structures, which form a clearly legible, coherent ensemble thanks to their similar window formats and details. The plaster structure and colour scheme of the façades of houses 2 - 4 are related to each other, similarly designed and yet different in detail. Only the building on plot 1, the extension of the education centre respectively the community college, VHS, is differentiated as a visible brick building and stands out in accordance with its special use.

The four houses are being constructed as solid buildings with masonry made of insulated Poroton bricks. The monolithic construction method allows the exterior plaster to be applied directly to the masonry and the plaster surfaces to be textured. The exterior façades of buildings 2-4 will be finished with a comb plaster in different shades, while building 1 will feature exposed brickwork. In order to achieve maximum flexibility in the use of the buildings, the interior walls will be constructed as load-bearing wall pillars with a depth of approximately 0.60 m. The spaces between them can be closed off with simple plasterboard partition walls if required, or they can be left open to connect the rooms directly to each other. It is also possible to connect the rooms with hinged or sliding doors, as in old buildings. The ceilings are made of reinforced concrete; the economic use of concrete-wood hybrid ceilings should be investigated. The garden on the ground floor and the garden terrace on the first floor will be intensively landscaped, as will the fire wall to the existing education forum. The windows are conceived as a wood-aluminium construction.