Marienplatz Apartments

With the redevelopment of Marienplatz, a high-quality project is being build in the heart of Darmstadt, comprising three buildings: a high-rise building, a building with a meandering floor plan, and a daycare center. The location of this modern and sustainable residential area is in earthquake zone 1.

Approximately 320 apartment units will be built in the high-rise building and the meandering building complex, with a 45 percent subsidized housing allotment. Community and office spaces as well as spaces for small retail units are also planned. The buildings are connected underground via a one-story underground garage.

Fast + Epp has been commissioned for the high-rise building and the meandering building with services for structural engineering design according to HOAI.

The meandering building consists of half dozen separate buildings, with six above-ground floors. The façade is green and accessed mostly through arcades. Rooftop community gardens are planned.

The individual meandering buildings are planned in a wood-hybrid construction. The loads from the cross-laminated timber roofs are carried by cross-laminated timber walls. According to the current planning stage, the basement with underground garage and cellar use, the ground-contact components and the stairwells as well as individual walls will be realized in reinforced concrete construction.

With this construction, the engineers from Fast + Epp use the different building materials optimally according to their properties. Furthermore, the construction has a low dead weight due to its wooden content. A high degree of prefabrication contributes to a reduction in the construction time.

The high-rise building takes on the height of the adjacent meandering building in the lower floors. This creates a base zone, which is accentuated by a large cantilever over the third upper floor. With a total of 17 above-ground floors, the mixed-use building (commercial, office, residential) sets a clear urban accent.

The new building is being built as a skeleton structure in solid construction with a flat roof, ceilings, undercuts, and supports made of reinforced concrete. The stairwell and elevator cores and individual reinforced concrete walls serve to strengthen the structure.