november & hamburg

november brought a new project; a competition in hamburg, germany. the project brief called for a mixed-use medical facility with a nursing home and several clinics in a new development just outside of the city center. the project would be part of a new building exposition, highlighting contemporary design in both architecture and landscape design.





initial responses to the context of the adjacent railway and highway lead to an interest in closing the perimeter block for sound mitigation and privacy. by bringing the building to the edges of the site the interior of the block is opened up to function as a courtyard which could serve the nursing home and medical facilities. wrapping the program around the perimeter also provided a strong edge which in relation to the adjacent buildings, could be understand as a threshold or gateway to the entire exhibition. programmatic requirements pushed the building to expand vertically, so the continuous building mass is bent upwards at the northwest corner- further emphasizing the gateway condition.