San Riemo Residental Building by ARGE Summacumfemmer Büro Juliane Greb is this year's recipient of the DAM Prize for Architecture, an annual award highlighting outstanding German projects. Selected from 100 buildings nominated by the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM), the San Riemo Residental Building was commended for an exemplary take on communal living and its spatial flexibility that can accommodate a wide range of dwelling scenarios. The finalist projects include OMA’s Axel Spinger building, Burger Rudacs Architekten’s John Cranko ballet school in Stuttgart and Florian Nagler Architekten’s , Research Buildings Bad Aibling.
For the DAM Preis for Architecture in Germany, Deutsches Architekturmuseum nominated 100 buildings in Germany or created by German architects completed between 2019 and 2021 and the four finalist projects were inspected by the jury on site. The San Riemo Residental Building by ARGE Summacumfemmer Büro Juliane Greb was awarded this year's prize for demonstrating an alternative dwelling typology defined by flexibility and un-programmed spaces.
Located on the site of a former airfield in Munich, now transformed into a residential area, the project results from a local competition initiated by the cooperative Kooperative Grossstadt. The spatial structure allows for a variety of apartment layouts and communal spaces. The dwelling units showcase a gradient of communal living, from the conventional apartment, to "branch" living, where private spaces are reduced to the essential making room for shared space,s or the nucleus living, in which several apartments share their spaces according to needs. Communal areas also include a communal kitchen, a workshop, a rooftop garden, or shared amenities like the laundry room.
The San Riemo project shows how we can live together in an affordable and exciting way. A characteristic structure provides a base for different household combinations to satisfy current and future demands and desires. - Jacob van Rijs
Among the four finalists is the John Cranko ballet school in Stuttgart, designed by Burger Rudacs Architekten, a project which mediates a 21-meter height difference along the site and translates the program into a sequence of spaces analogous to dance.
Florian Nagler Architekten's "Building Simply", Research Buildings Bad Aibling, is an exploration of materials and construction methods in search of a viable solution for affordable housing and sustainable architecture. The three structures made of wood, brick, and lightweight concrete respectively are a simplification of the building envelope, proposing a robust construction instead.
OMA's Axel-Springer-Building in Berlin, the result of an international competition held eight years ago, is also among the finalists of DAM Preis. The project illustrates the transition to the digital workplace and brings to the forefront the new culture of productive exchanges and interaction. The design's defining gesture is a diagonal atrium where a series of terraced floors of workplaces and lounges create a "valley" crossed by bridges, giving the impression of continuous space.
