Ute-Strittmatter-Straße – Collective Living in Freiham
In a process individually tailored to the project, a team comprised of an ambitious housing cooperative (WOGENO eG), alongside various architecture offices and landscape architects from Munich and Vienna (03 Arch., ENEFF, illiz, Westner Schührer Zöhrer and Uniola) was formed in summer 2019. In search of a spatial
expression of a communal living, the team used a series of workshops to develop a concept in the north of Freiham: the buildings frame a diverse sequence of a squares and courtyards which form the backdrop for neighbourly life. An urban neighbourhood square has been created on the Ute-Strittamatter-Straße to signify the development’s openness to and connection with the city. This square is brought to life by an offer of a neighbourhood cafe together with large communal spaces, which also serve as an anchor for the housing cooperative within the surrounding neighbourhood. Outdoor spaces that are more sheltered and green are found within the site, flanked by large trees. These offer residents a place not only in which to retreat but for spatial appropriation and social encounters. The round balconies serve as private open spaces and are assigned to the individual apartments via the arcade - the courtyard becomes a stage for community life. The balconies are covered by curtains, which allow for more privacy. The arcade together with the balconies were created using a prefabricated concrete construction and a row of columns in front of the cost-effective hybrid-timber construction. A wide range of apartment types and sizes, as well as neutral spaces within the apartments, offer long-term flexibility for both the client and residents, who can adapt their living space as their needs change with time. The diversity of the apartment typologies and the varied facades reflect the different approaches of the architects, who were also involved in mutually defining the framework of the structural system and the design language, such as colour, material and structure.
