Bogenviertel Bietigheim-Bissingen

Now that Deutsche Linoleum-Werke (DLW) has moved out of Bietigheim-Bissingen, the municipality has a chance to increase its density and provide new living and working accommodations for 1,500 people. For the site known as “Bogenviertel,” in reference to the railway tracks that surround the development site in a large arc, the town organized an urban design competition for the change of use, which was won by gmp. The district is accessed via a ring road. A pedestrian axis cuts through the site from north to south, with an offset at the center that widens into a square. Surrounding the central square are four apartment blocks, each of which has four full stories plus an attic floor and opens out on three sides. A transverse volume and a 60 meter high-rise channel the flow of pedestrians to the railway station forecourt. To create a good mix of accommodations, the scheme provides both apartments for owner occupation and affordable rental housing. The district is screened along the noisy road and railway tracks by longish, six-story building blocks. The space facing the street is used for offices and commercial functions. For the block along the railway tracks, the concept proposes special, economical forms of accommodation. Seven-story high-rise buildings are placed between the blocks at the edge and the blocks nearer the center of the site, with mixed functions including living/working accommodation, studios, and loft apartments.