About Koschany + Zimmer Architects KZA
About ALHO
Client: VonoviaSE
Architects: Koschany + Zimmer Architects KZA
Year: 2018
The close cooperation of a modular construction company, a housing association and an architectural firm is due to the construction of several residential modular multi-storey apartment buildings on the modular principle and in steel modular construction. In a relaxed urban planning arrangement on a newly developed, inner-city plot in Bochum, for example, three Point houses were created, which want to contradict the uniform appearance and repetitive, shapeless image of serial construction.
The Essen-based office Koschany + Zimmer Architekten KZA dealt with the modular construction at an early stage. After a first project in Dortmund, which the architects developed together with the system construction company Alho from Friesenhagen, the cooperation was continued in Bochum. On behalf of the housing company Vonovia, three 4-storey Point houses in the midst of generously designed open spaces were realized. The participants regard the applied modular principle as advantageous for the housing industry as well as for architects and planners.
Planning from the inside out
The Modular Housing Kit developed by KZA and Alho consists of individual module types. These include, for example, a living room and a kitchen, a bedroom with a hallway or a nursery plus a bathroom. From this matrix - a canon of different modules - the apartments are custom-made for the respective location and according to the desired apartment key. Afterwards, the house is created out of this individual mix of apartments. "Normally, architects tend to work in the opposite direction - from outside to inside: there is an urban planning situation from which the building is conceived in its cubature and fitted with floor plans developed from it," explains architect Axel Koschany. "Modular construction is the other way around. It starts with elaborate floor plans - in the end the most important thing for the future residents. Even the most similar apartment types are almost never forced into one and the same cubature due to the different local specifications."
Diversity in modular design and layout
For example, three modular houses, each with 14 residential units, were built in Kaulbachstraße in Bochum in the course of an inner-city rehabilitation measure. As an urban development reaction to the adjacent to the north side 2- and 3-storey neighboring buildings was staggered in coordination with the city. The mezzanine floor jumps back 3 meters on the 4th floor and creates spacious roof terraces. The return could be agreed with the modular design, since this only one module had to be omitted. The systematics of the modular structure remained otherwise unchanged.
The modules are on 17 x 19 m base and 12.5 m high, with 7 one-room, 3 two-room, 2 three-room and 2 four-room apartments, user requirements are covered. The apartments are designed throughout to be barrier-free and wheelchair-friendly. The buildings are centrally accessed via a single-flight staircase and lift system. All apartments on the 1st and 2nd floor have prefabricated balconies, and the apartments on the 3rd floor have rooftop terraces. Arrangement of freestanding Point Houses ensures a varied appearance. The funnel-shaped outer space zones leave room for differently designed open spaces. Green tenants' gardens, playgrounds and other dwellings are planned here.
Profitability factor of prefabrication
Each building consists of 43 room modules. These were manufactured at Alho plant for seven weeks and under ongoing quality controls. At the construction site, the modules were ultimately assembled in seven days per house. The entire construction period of the three modular buildings was - after the ground was prepared - 20 weeks.
"The modular construction can always exploit its advantages if the structural units that are as constant as possible are repeated. That's why we talk about serial modular construction. So that these module types are not built into uniform houses, we work together with architects like KZA. They bring creative input by playing with the building blocks and exploiting their potential in terms of design," explains Michael Lauer, architect at the multi-storey building competence center at Alho.
The projects in Dortmund and Bochum are the first of a series of residential construction projects that will be completed with the developed modular system later this year. The project partners are planning to further optimize the system and to expand new components, such as new module units.
Diversity in modular construction
In Bochum, an exemplary modular construction project proves that series and individuality are not mutually exclusive. On a newly developed, inner-city plot, three modular Point Houses have been created with a loose, urban arrangement and a staggered cubature.
As one of the first manufacturers of prefab modular buildings in steel module construction, ALHO offers sophisticated solutions in multi-storey housing construction. For the housing company VONOVIA, the company is currently (2018) realizing a series of residential buildings based on a modular system. The concept was developed together with Koschany + Zimmer Architekten KZA from Essen. Instead of developing the building out of the urban situation, the process of serial construction begins with the smallest scalable serial element, the module. Depending on the room requirement, these individual elements are put together individually. This is how well-designed floor plans and a large range of cubatures are created with modular prefab units.
The ensemble of the three Point Houses is already the second housing project that was realized together with KZA. It was created in the course of an urban development densification in Bochum. The buildings are four-storeyed and offer space for 14 continuously accessible housing units of different sizes. There is no basement, but all apartments have a sufficiently large storage room and on each ground floor a technology module is arranged. Overall, the Point Houses are made up of 43 room modules. They were manufactured in the factory within seven weeks under strict quality controls at ALHO and installed at the construction site per house within seven days. The total construction time of the three buildings was just under 20 weeks after the ground was prepared with the floor slab.
Contrary to popular belief that modular buildings are boring, the architects were able to make the three residential buildings in Bochum exciting: With the fourth floor projecting back, the design responds to the two- and three-storey neighboring buildings adjoining the north side. At the same time, the staggering of the building cubatures visually revives the facades. In terms of urban planning, the arrangement of the Point Houses, which is rotated towards each other, creates a sense of relaxation: funnel-shaped interspaces that provide space for differently designed recreational areas - from green tenants' gardens to varied playgrounds.
