Multicultural residential project
(Lower Saxony)
Photography: Robert Schmell, BBSR im BBR
As part of holding the EXPO 2000, the urban district of Kronsberg was developed and built in the southeast of Hanover in order to cover the city's forecasted housing requirements.
In the 1st construction phase, almost 3000 housing units were erected within only 2½ years. Kronsberg was planned as a "model urban district for sustainable development". Key elements are: area-wide concepts for handling rain water, energy, waste and ground, the mixture of various ways of living, a good infrastructure and the running of the Kronsberg-Umwelt-Kommunikations-Agentur GmbH (KUKA), which was especially established to advise residents and builders.
Photography: Karl Johaentges, Hannover
"Habitat" is a residential project in the urban district of Kronsberg, which "is intended to promote the multicultural coexistence of Germans and migrants", as the project organiser writes in a brochure. As a part of the EXPO project "City as Social Living Space", the social and ecological objectives of the UNO Habitat II Conference (Istanbul 1996) were implemented here in an exemplary form. The concept of this building project was prepared by an international exchange of experience and was worked out on the basis of a representative survey of migrants. 93 flats were built following a competition. 10% of these flats were built with attention to the rules of Muslim beliefs. These are flats with from 1 to 7 rooms in 44 different types, most of which are so-called "allraum" flats with central kitchen, similarly sized rooms and flexible interior walls.
The five 3½-storey buildings are grouped around a boules court and two courtyards in which there are tenants' gardens. The community centre, with its group rooms, tea room, kiosk, fruit shop, service office with equipment rental (lawnmower, tools, barbecue etc.), fitness room and sauna, is of key importance. Other facilities include an underground bicycle garage, restaurant and a laundrette. The low-energy standard, healthy building materials, roof greenery and rain water drainage all conform to the overall environmental orientation of the urban district.
The residents are multicultural, as intended by the initiators: around 30% of the residents are migrants. There is little fluctuation and demand for the flats is as high as ever.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| from 1995 | Project idea, founding of the project team |
| 1996 | Migrant survey by the Institute for Development Planning and Structure Research (IES report 302.96) |
| June 1996 | Project team participates in the Habitat II Conference in Istanbul |
| 1997 | Planner colloquium and project advisory board, architect competition |
| 1998 | Building application and start of building |
| End 1999 | Completion and habitation |
| 2000 | Presentation at the EXPO |
Photography: Karl Johaentges, Hannover
Photography: Karl Johaentges, Hannover
Photography: Robert Schmell, BBSR im BBR
This multicultural housing project supports the neighbourly coexistence of migrants and Germans by consistently giving consideration to different cultures. It attempts to enrich the urban and social development of the new district through special facilities and achieves principle standards of ecological construction at the same time.
The projekt site ist to be found at postal code: 30539 - town: Hannover - street: Försterkamp 16.
Record inserted on 17.09.2004 by Lehrstuhl für Planungstheorie und Stadtplanung, RWTH Aachen and updated by theFederal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) within the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR).
Last update: 13.02.2009
