City Gate
Reutlingen
Name
City Gate
Client
MODUS GmbH & Co.
Program
Commercial, Residential, Parking
Location
Reutlingen
Project
2017
Status
project
Parcel
11.930 m2
Area
40.555 m2
Footprint
5.845 m2
Our proposal targets two distinct scales: on the one hand, it is designed as a „Gateway to Reutlingen,“ and on the other, as a center and anchor point for the neighboring districts—by using the public-oriented functions of the new buildings not only to enliven Karlstraße but also to improve the overall quality of living in the neighborhood. We see integration within the district as an essential prerequisite for the long-term, sustainable use of the area.
Consequently, most of the building masses are scaled to the neighborhood and create street spaces and courtyards. They are arranged in a graduated sequence—from three stories in the south, through five stories, up to seven stories in the north—and then taper back to three stories at the northwestern corner. In doing so, they conform in scale to the adjacent districts and form, to the north, a closed yet articulated „back“ that serves as a noise barrier for the entire neighborhood.
Three high points rise above this spatial fabric, integrating it into the urban context of the entire city and defining its special role as the gateway for the city’s approach from the Neckar valley. Deliberately, they do not occupy the very tip of the site; instead of splitting the space along the B313 like a plow, they create a tiered arrangement of building masses that lures people in from the bypass toward the city. Accordingly, two of the high points emphasize Karlstraße as the primary space, while the third welcomes those approaching from the west along Stuttgarter Straße.
Inside, the new district is organized around a series of courtyards connected by a public pathway; all functions—from the bicycle parking garage and the daycare center on the roof of the “Bug” to the office and residential entrances, and even the ateliers at the western entrance courtyard—are accessed from this communal space.
Multiple contracts were awarded as part of a project partnership with Ammann Albers StadtWerke and HinnenthalSchaar Landschaftsarchitekten.
