Location: Bremen, Germany

Client:  BrePark GmbH

Date:  2014 Competition

Area: 3,500m2

Budget: €7,5 millions

Team credits:

AZPML: Alejandro Zaera-Polo, Maider Llaguno-Munitxa, Guillermo Fernandez-Abascal, Manuel Eijo, Pablo de Sola, Estela Arbesu, Davide Macchi

Associate Architect: Jan Pietje Witt, Studio Witt, Hamburg

Renders: SBDA

Model: Boje Modellbau

Our proposal is to maximize the useable area of the building while producing a massing which plays a contemporary, unstable massing with the traditional massing, scale and fenestration in St Stephan’s Viertel: an urban block with a pitch roof and a repetitive series of vertical windows.

The traditional window pattern and the use of masonry is ideal in terms of achieving the highest environmental performance standard. The window area has been set to be around 50% of the total surface in order to have sufficient area with a very high insulation value. The glazing content to the courtyard is reduced to less than 25% of office floor behind in order to control solar gain.

The volume is very compact, which helps both in terms of optimizing the volume but also in terms of energy performance and economy. The entrances on the ground level and the contact with neighbouring building are used as a way of distorting the grounding and the skyline of the building.

We are using the traditional massing in St Stephan’s Viertel: an urban block with a pitch roof and a repetitive pattern of vertical windows. The materiality that we are exploring uses also clinker brick, with a slightly reflective enamel. The bricks have been laid out with a pattern that contributes to provide a delicate finish while remaining within a traditional palette of materials. The heavy ceramic wall will act not only as a thermal mass to stabilize the building’s temperature through all seasons, but also to absorb solar radiation and cold before it is transferred to the insulated membrane. The 50mm air cavity located behind the ceramic wall acts as a thermal break, and as a pressure equalization chamber, which improves the waterproofing capacity of the wall.