Former Osram Building

The wings of the buildings close where necessary to protect against noise, whereas the park-like open spaces in other places are enclosed by the buildings and formed into flowing space sequences, offering diverse views to the south. To the west and the east, the end walls form a kind of gate and define the link to the urban space. The Y-bodies protect the private courtyards with varying intimacy and the generously sized urban free space at the centre of the development, and structure them in intriguing space sequences.

For all buildings, the Y-typology is the basic uniform shape, and this reacts to the different external requirements with metamorphic variations. The adaptation aims everywhere at creating a symbiosis between the interiors of the flats and the different free spaces. The Y-house enables an optimal orientation of the individual flats to at least two sides, which can be designed in dependence on the compass direction, exposure to noise, and views. Every Y-unit profits optimally from the different private and public spaces developed on the site – in the sense of diverse neighbourhoods.