If you are interested in contemporary housing development and co-housing in Germany you cannot overlook zanderroth architekten. Since they were founded in 1999 they have developed and implemented numerous housing development projects in Berlin.

One of them is the apartment buildings in Christburger Strasse. For the development of this gap site zanderroth architekten were awarded the renowned architecture prize “best architects 16”.

The co-housing development project was managed as a joint building venture in which 27 parties (singles, couples and families) joined to form a private company that carried out the construction project on its own responsibility, under the guidance of SmartHoming. The advantages are great individual freedom of design and lower costs combined with high architectural quality.

The apartment buildings have flexibly divisible floor plans. The use of ceilings with long spans made it unnecessary to fix the floor plans in any way. There are no load-bearing walls or supports within the apartments, allowing the floor plan distribution to be determined freely. The only fixed elements are the position of the shafts and the elevator, which provides direct access to the apartments.

Due to fire safety requirements for the emergency exits, a special accessing system was developed that used continuous balconies on the buildings’ rear sides to turn the stairs into fire escapes. These balconies also act as protected, spacious open areas. By contrast, the front sides are the buildings’ showcases, with enormous, elegant fixed glazing that dissolves the boundary between inside and outside.

Despite the modern character of the materials, the façade is not an alien object, instead representing a contemporary building block in the city. Decorative elements such as offset window bands, horizontally running ledges and the color tone are reflected in a translated form in the shimmering color of the anodized coating, the profiles of the post-and-mullion construction and the shadows created by the sculptural elements of the opening casements.

The different façade concepts and their contrasting usability meet in the courtyard. On one side, the continuous balconies with raw fair-faced concrete balustrades ensure privacy even as far as the exterior space. On the other, the perfectly smooth aluminum and glass façade allows residents to decide whether to present themselves or retreat behind curtains. The entrance area is recessed slightly, allowing the key zone of contact between public and private areas to be more permeable, weather-protected and paved with street slabs.

Location:

Christburger Strasse 19, Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg

Co-Housing Project Data:

• Architect: zanderroth architekten gmbh, Berlin
• Client: Christburger Straße 19 GbR
• Landscape Architects: herrburg Landschaftsarchitekten, Berlin
• Structural engineer: Ingenieurbüro Leipold, Berlin
• Planning/Construction: 2009 – 2013
• Performance stages: 1 – 8
• Residential units: 27
• Storeys: 7
• Parkings: 17
• Costs / Cost group: 100 - 700 incl. VAT – 9.7 Mio. EUR
• Costs / Cost group: 300 - 400 excl. VAT – 1,445 EUR/qm
• Floor area: 3,708 sqm (40,000 SF)
• Living space: 2,872 sqm (30,913 SF)
• Site occupancy/Plot ratio: 0,55 / 3,42

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Long before developing the BIG YARD, when Sascha Zander and Christian Roth wanted to start up as architects after university they could not find clients. So they decided to search for a possibility to generate jobs themselves. They saved a piece of land in Berlin via a purchase option and organized several private clients into a building group (German “Baugruppe”) for which they planned and built.

The concept of the “Baugruppe” (building group) has established since then and Zanderroth opened up a firm called SmartHoming which specialized in organizing such projects. The idea of SmartHoming is following: “Ambitious architecture in urban locations with affordable prices. The goal is to affiliate the future owners into a legal structure which acquires the land and assigns the architect.”

Zanderroth Architekten practice a special kind of real estate development. The client gets the opportunity to save the developers margin whereas the architect gets the job and determines the architecture. A variation of job acquisition where the architect does not hold the development risk but has the opportunity to build great buildings as references for himself.

Since then they have finished several award-winning residential buildings with the same concept. One of their earlier co-housing projects in Berlin, titled BIG YARD, was completed in 2010. The building consists of 23 townhouses, which are aligned to create a homogenous volume with 10 summerhouses behind it and 12 penthouses above it. In between, there is a large unplotted garden courtyard with a garage beneath it. The dream of the single house in the midst of Berlin became reality!

A rooftop terrace, summer kitchen, sauna, and four visitors’ apartments add to the aspect of community. The separated, yet overlapping access to the building gives the project an additional village character in terms of its use.

See for yourself:

Location:

BIG YARD: Zelterstrasse 5-11, 10439 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg, Germany

Project Data:

• Architects: zanderrotharchitekten gmbh, Berlin
• Team Architects: Kirka Fietzek, Diana Gunkel, Guido Neubeck, Christian Roth, Konrad Scholz, Lutz Tinius, Sascha Zander
• Client: Bauherrengemeinschaft Zelterstraße 5-11
• Load-bearing structure: Ingenieurbüro Andreas Leipold, Berlin
• Building technology: Ingenieurbüro Lüttgens, Berlin
• herrburg Landschaftsarchitekten, Berlin
• Planning / Construction: 2007 – 2010
• Performance stages: 1 – 8
• Residential units: 45
• Storeys: 7
• Costs / Cost group 300 – 400 excl. VAT: EUR 8,970,000
• Gross floor area: 3,336 m2
• Net saleable/rentable area: 6,624 m2
• Site occupancy/Plot ratio: 1,00 / 3,00

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We introduced zanderroth architekten to you in this article presenting five successful architects as developer firms. Since they were founded in 1999 they have developed and implemented numerous housing development projects in Berlin.

One of them is the ensemble of six apartment buildings in Liebigstrasse, Berlin.

The development project was managed as one of the biggest joint building venture project in which 144 parties (singles, couples and families) joined to form a private company that carried out the construction project on its own responsibility, under the guidance of SmartHoming. The advantages are great individual freedom of design and lower costs combined with high architectural quality.

The free-standing buildings are positioned at a distance of 15 m from each other and are open in all directions. A distinction is made between two different building typologies: 2 x VI-storey, 4 x VII-storey, and also between 6-7 different apartment types including a garden apartment.

The principle of individual residential buildings is applied in the flexible combination of their floor plans. They can be added or divided. The flexible floor plans enable small residential units for singles and couples, as well as – after merging – large units for families. Two apartments with a floor space of 52 m2 and 64 m2 can be individually used or combined to create a large 116 m2 apartment.

This follows the principle of a flexible building, since it is not dictated by load-bearing walls and building elements. Demands change depending on different stages of life and the floor plans can adapt flexibly to the living conditions and requirements of the people.

See for yourself:

Location:

Liebigstrasse 1 – 1E, Berlin, Friedrichshain, Germany

Project Data:

• Architects: zanderroth architekten gmbh, Berlin
• Team Architects: Elisa Gersdorf, Tilman Heiring, Anne Kaiser, Dirk Müller, Anne Müller-Reitz, Ann-Sofie Paternoster, Christian Roth, Nils Schülke, Michael Spieler, Sascha Zander
• Client: Baugemeinschaft Liebigstrasse 1 GbR
• Landscape Architects: herrburg Landschaftsarchitekten, Berlin
• Structural engineer: Ingenieurbüro Leipold, Berlin
• Planning/Construction: 2010 – 2015
• Performance stages: 1 – 8
• Residential units: 144
• Storeys: 8
• Parkings: 76
• Costs/Account group 100-700 gross: EUR 29.5 million
• Costs / Account group 300 – 400 net: EUR 1,605/sqm
• Gross floor area: 6,691 sqm (72,021 SF)
• Net saleable/rentable area: 9,431 sqm (10,1514 SF)
• Site occupancy/Plot ratio: 0.24 / 1.78

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John Portman & Associates

John Portman is an american architect as developer who founded his office in 1953 in Atlanta, Georgia. He is literally the grandfather of the “Architect as Developer” principle which he describes in detail in his book of the same name. During his 50-year long working period he initiated many buildings as a developer and planed those as an architect with his office. Thereby he mainly focused on hotels and shopping malls in downtown Atlanta.

Portman felt the classical role of architects as to passive and undetermined for which reason he decided to become a real estate entrepreneur and to develop his own projects. After he initiated a development he commissioned his own office to design and build the project. In this way he managed to combine two professions, architecture and real estate.

His visions as an architect had created possibilities and solutions which ordinary investors would not have evaluated as promising. At the same time he proved that large spacial structures which normally would only appear in subsidized institutional buildings could also be promising investments for commercial use.

Portman learned how to think real estate architecturally and to see architecture in an entrepreneurial way. He understood to interfuse urban visions through the control of the whole process of development, financing and planning. In doing so he created buildings with high quality of sojourn and design.

You can find famous buildings that Architect as Developer John Portman designed and developed on the following websites:

• John Portman & Associates
• Portman Holdings
• A movie about John Portman

Jonathan Segal – Jonathan Segal Architect

The office of Jonathan Segal has specialized in designing and developing residential buildings in San Diego, California. Segal developed his first building at the age of 25 right after graduating from uni. Since then he never stopped to build for his own without any client.

Through the combination of the two roles, architect and developer, he managed to finish striking residential buildings which represent the californian lifestyle and show high spacial quality. The interesting part of his business model is that he exclusively develops rental condos which he holds in his own portfolio after.

Since the establishment of his office in 1990 he developed and build more than two docent projects. In 2006 Segal sold 141 apartments of 45 Million Dollars to a group of investors.

He also encourages other architects to develop their own projects with his Architect as Developer seminar. In a video on his website he says:

“Through the control of the whole process and the elimination of the client you can build and design what you want and earn fair rewards for your work.”

Jonathan Segal teaches at the Woodbury School of Architecture in the Master Program Real Estate and Development together with other experienced developer architects.

Here are some links to completed projects of Jonathan Segal Architects:

• The Chresta, San Diego
• The Charmer, San Diego
• The Q, San Diego
• Woodbury School of Architecture – Master of Real Estate and Development

Andreas Becher – BRH Architects

Since years Andreas Becher and his office BRH Architects are not only working as architects anymore. They are also working as residential architect as developers in Berlin.

The first development project were three atelier houses in Berlin which he designed for his family and for friends. A learning process which also Jonathan Segal recommends. Start small with the first project and build for your own for example.

Since then the office overtook the whole development process. They are buying land and developing ideas and concepts of it. They create feasibility studies in which they define potential target groups, markets, use and sales prices. And finally they plan, build and sell the buildings.

You can find some of the projects of Andreas Becher on the following websites:

• Atelier Houses, Königsweg, Berlin
• Town Houses, Schwedter Street 41-43, Berlin

Sascha Zander & Christian Roth – Zanderroth Architects

When Sascha Zander and Christian Roth wanted to start up as architects after university they could not find any client. So they decided to search for a possibility to generate jobs themselves. They saved a piece of land in Berlin via a purchase option and organized several private clients into a building group (german “Baugruppe”) for which they planned and built. Since then they have finished several award-winning residential buildings with the same concept. Their projects deal with high density in urban areas and they created multiple innovative residential typologies.

The concept of the “Baugruppe” (building group) has established since then and Zanderroth opened up a firm called SmartHoming which specialized in organizing such projects.

The idea of SmartHoming is following: “Ambitious architecture in urban locations with affordable prices. The goal is to affiliate the future owners into a legal structure which acquires the land and assigns the architect.”

Zanderroth Architects practice a special kind of real estate development. The client gets the opportunity to save the developers margin whereas the architect gets the job and determines the architecture. A variation of job acquisition where the architect does not hold the development risk but has the opportunity to build great buildings as references for himself.

Here are some Links to Baugruppen of  Zanderroth Architects:

• Zelter Street 5, Berlin – Prenzlauer Berg
• Schönholzer Street 11 – Berlin Mitte
• Ruppiner/Schönholzer Street – Berlin Mitte
• SmartHoming Development Firm

Daniel Niggl & Marc Holle – EM2N Architects

The swiss architectural office EM2N has founded the development firm DN2M with the goal to combine the role of the investor, the seller and the architect to develop their own projects.

The first successful finishes project of DN2M is a redevelopment of an old Coop-Supermarket in small swiss city of Winterthur. The building law of the property made is impossible to design a new building with enough gross floor area to be profitable. That is why all investors and developers who where interested in the site jumped off again. When the architects discovered the property they saw the potential of a possible redevelopment.

They re-used the existing building to a multiple family house with five different parties. The 4-meter high rooms of the former supermarket where refurbished to a generous living and dining space. They lowered the first floor as a split level solution into the ground to the bedrooms and individual spaced could fit. That way the architects created exciting internal views between the functions.

Conventional Investors and developers aim for the maximum of profit before architectural claim. EM2N do it differently. The goal of the Archipreneurs is to design interesting projects with high architectural quality with an adequate return of investment. In this sense the can offer better, more individual housing types for their clients which are not standard mainstream and which are in this way more sustainable.

The Architect as Developer model seems to be worthwhile for the architects. The second project is already in the pipeline. Here are some links to the projects:

• Redevelopment at Bettenplatz, Winterthur, Switzerland.
• Multiple Generation House in Bremgarten, Switzerland.
• DN2M – Development Company of EM2N

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