Natural stone has shaped architecture for centuries, before industrial materials transformed global building culture. Today, natural stone is once again gaining attention—not only for its design potential but also for its contribution to decarbonizing the construction sector. In Hallstadt, a contemporary residential building was designed that integrates harmoniously into its context through a load-bearing structure made of local stone. The project was developed in close collaboration with the Bamberg Natural Stone Works and the City of Hallstadt, and was part of an ideas competition. The building responds to the needs of the local Caritas organization: communal living, a multi-generational café, and a multifunctional space for the village community.
Based on the characteristic design approaches, the peculiarity of the building is to be developed from the function of “carrying the loads of the archives”.
Through the use of an intelligent and robust load-bearing system, a high-performance and beautiful architecture is to be created. The quality of the rooms should offer a good working atmosphere and provide an appropriate architectural response to the question of how a contemporary institute can be materialised.
The old town centres in Hessian villages no longer seem to meet today's requirements in terms of their small-scale nature. Characteristic small annexes such as sheds and stables show a diversity that, however, often conflicts with modern uses. Dense structures typical of the region are being dismantled, buildings that characterise the locality are disappearing and many villages are in danger of being converted into a monostructured settlement of single-family houses. On a hillside site in Arfurt an der Lahn, the project will investigate whether and how typical, dense building in rural areas can be further developed in keeping with the times.
By working on atmospheric models, a possible future scenario is to be sketched within three tasks, from the analysis of the existing situation to design fragments.
