RKW Architektur + has been selected as the winners of a competition to design a new mixed-use residential tower located at Mailänder Platz in Stuttgart, Germany. Rising from a triangular site, the building features a dynamic facade of shifting stone that creates openings for vertical greenery, and an abundance of public space, including cafes, retail, a hotel and a library.
Project description from the architects.
The guiding principle of the present draft is the development of a powerful and natural figure which logically adopts the angles and influences resulting from the overall urban concept of the Trojan + Trojan office and further develops them in the sense of a modern architectural design and the southern flair of the quarter. By doing so, the desire for an easy-to-care for façade greening is taken just as seriously as the windows and axis values required for hotel and residential housing usage. The prominent location of the building site vis-a-vis the monolithic Stuttgart municipal library and the vibrant Milaneo brings great responsibility as well as an opportunity to mould and greatly shape Stuttgart’s cityscape. An ensemble of two stone cubes, which appear to be suspended over delicate glass floors shape the appearance as a whole.
The recess of the building at the ground floor in the direction of the library called for in the development plan extends through the first upper floor. A large arcade stretches which, with the seats of the cafés in the ground floor of the Moskauer Straße, is made into an obvious and lively entrance into the new hotel and the library.
The interweaving of the new building with the Europa quarter and the improvement in the quality of stay will also consist in the northerly direction on the Londoner Straße. The stipulated shops will be raised in an intermediate floor in such a way that they will not be enclosed under the stairways to be created, but naturally situated at the “street front” and handicapped-accessible through the first ramp directly from Mailänder Platz. This way, three additional kiosk areas can be erected in the direct vicinity of the subway entrance, which make this more attractive and urban.
All these measures give the “tower at Mailänder Platz” not only a green and modern long-distance effect, but also a face towards the city and the passers-by.
The niches, which are to be planted with robust grapevines, provide both a decorative and useful effect. The maintenance-required opening serves as a tilt ventilation flap in the apartment house, but can also be completely opened by the service personnel for the care of the grapevines.
The downlights integrated into the top of the niches illuminate the plant in the evening hours, and thus ensure the distinctive CI of the building. The water supply for the plants is ensured through a watering system which uses falling rainwater gathered on the roofs.
