Morning Red all day long

A housing estate built in 1966 that would still be up to date in terms of energy today without refurbishment would certainly be a rarity. This is also true of the Schenefelder Holt housing estate, which consists of 680 flats in different building typologies and some commercial properties and was in great need of refurbishment. To meet current thermal insulation requirements, thermal insulation of the façade and roof, new glazing and controlled ventilation were necessary. And since it was foreseeable that the intervention would take place in several construction phases and spread over several years, a design concept was developed to uniformly upgrade the appearance of the settlement as a whole and establish it as an attractive residential location in the long term.

Project

Facade concept and modernisation Schenefelder Holt

Client

BVE Bauverein der Elbgemeinden eG

Service

1-9 HOAI

Location

Schenefelder Holt in Hamburg

Photography

Markus Tollhopf

Specifics

1st place of the German Façade Award in the category Energy-efficient Façade Insulation

Unity in Diversity

Both through the urban arrangement and the use of the same façade materials and recurring details, it is clearly recognisable that the settlement was already developed and planned as a whole at that time. Nevertheless, the different building types also have their own individual basic structures and design approaches, which also find their way into the new colour and material concept in order to maintain the heterogeneity and differentiation of the building types. The existing qualities, such as the special shape of the balconies, are emphasised and underlined with colour accents.

Rich red and medium grey

The colour palette of the façade concept, inspired by Impressionism, relies on warm primary colours from red to yellow to maintain the existing impression of the bricks of yellow and red. A warm grey in the plinth zones complements the palette, allowing for variety and yet preventing a colourfulness that appears arbitrary. Cool shades such as blue and green only appear as accent colours in the settlement.