Studico

Renovation, conversion and expansion through adding storeys to an administration building to turn it into a students' hall of residence.

The students‘ hall of residence is located in the redevelopment area of Mollerstadt. Living and working in this neighbourhood is losing its appeal due to outdated standards and a lack of maintenance. The conversion of the plain administration building into a high-quality students‘ hall of residence with a small office unit contributes decisively to overcoming these problems and creates an impulse to develop the entire district. In the course of the renovation the utilisation of the building was enhanced through adding storeys and more living space was created in the urban context. At the same time the previously sealed inner courtyard with a garage was able to be converted into an unsealed green open area. The monotonous punctuated facade of the existing building was restructured by spacious, vertical window hinges and colour contrasted. Another change comprises moving the main entrance into the arcade passage. This is under a preservation order as part of an entire urban complex and was extensively restructured. In this way the to date unattractive public space was able to be enhanced and the internal development of the building improved.

In the interior the arrangement of the internal walls was adapted to the new residential use and 92 bright, barrier-free accessible students‘ apartments created from between 18 and 55 square metres in size. The apartments are upgraded balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows. During the conversion the existing stock was maintained as far as possible and existing building substance was retained. Furthermore the utilisation of the building was increased due to added storeys and the formerly sealed inner courtyard was converted into a greened biodiverse open space. Corresponding to the mobility concept the parking spaces in the inner courtyard were replaced by merely three car sharing parking spaces so that no further parking spaces were necessary for the students’ hall of residence and at the same time cars were able to be reduced in the inner city area. In place of this the students have a large bicycle cellar and an e-bike charging station at their disposal The building was renovated to a KfW efficiency house 70 standard and has a modern pellet heating. When choosing the furniture and fittings importance was particularly attached to surface materials tested for harmful substances, approved by Sentitel Haus Institut.

The project was awarded the polis Award 2023 in the category "Intelligent Redensification". It also received an award at the 3rd Hessian Prize for Innovation and Community Spirit and the Plaque from the City of Darmstadt for the greening, energy and mobility concept.

Project manager: Markus Helfrich
Project management: Asimir Arifovic-Topal, Stefanie Reitmeier
Team: Kira Kausche, Evgenij Vlasenko