Two modern brick-and-wood buildings flank a sandy courtyard; leafless trees at center; a bird flies overhead.
Offshore Borkum
Germany
  • Residential
  • Built

As part of the urban development of Borkum-Reede a series of compact and architecturally sophisticated residential units are being created in the northern part of the harbour for workers in the offshore sector.

The quarter, which includes personnel accommodation, retail space and high quality social areas, enjoys an exclusive location on the old naval harbour at the southern tip of the island and is making a key contribution to the revival of the area. The form, materiality and positioning of the design concept refer to the topographical characteristics of the location.

The buildings, most of which have two storeys and a pitched roof, enhance and structure the development in a way that is typical for the locality. The shaping of the site will increase the level of flood protection.

The generously laid out external areas empathise with the landscape of the surrounding dunes, above which the buildings appear to float.

The brick façades, with their inset block windows and applied loggias, shape the external appearance of the residential blocks while timber slats, which are positioned at rhythmic intervals along the loggias, structure the built volumes.

Address
Am Nordufer 29,
Ostkaje 4
Borkum, Reede

Competition
Study Nov 2017

Start of planning
2018

Start of construction
2019

Completion
12/2020

Gross surface area
8.000 m²

Construction volume
24.655 m³

Site area
18.600 m²

Number of levels
2

Costs
€ 4,5 Mio.

Project manager
Eva Schrade

Project team
Birgit Miksch
Antonella Amesberger

CONSULTANTS
Executive planning
GME, Achim

General Contractor
Kamü Bau, Bremen

Construction management
GME, Achim

Landscape Architects
Horeis + Blatt Partnerschaft mbB, Bremen

Structural engineering
Knebel und Partner, Bremen

Thermal building physics
BRB Bauen, Ottersberg

HVACR/ Electrics
Ecotec GmbH, Bremen

Photographer
Piet Niemann

Modern beachside pavilion with glass walls, vertical slats, and roof solar panels; wind turbine in the distance.

A residential project
for offshore employees,
right at the harbour.

Contemporary brick building with vertical wooden slats; arid foreground with sparse shrubs, a person walking toward the entrance at sunset.
Person stands on the balcony of a modern hotel room, with a bed, sofa, and mesh divider, overlooking a seascape.

The form, materiality and positioning of the design concept refer to
the topographical characteristics of the location.

Modern brick-and-wood building with tall vertical wooden slats along a sandy coastal lot; a distant figure walks.
Site plan of a rectangular campus with a long central building and two perpendicular wings, surrounding parking, greenery, and a riverside edge.

ground floor plan

Aerial site plan showing a mixed-use campus with two vertical building blocks, a long central building, parking, green space, and a riverfront edge.

site plan

Blank white image
Diagonal view of a tall vertical wooden slat fence along a building against a pale sky.
Exterior view of a modern brick-and-glass building with metal louvers; a person walks up the steps toward the glass entrance at dusk
Four construction workers in hi-vis jackets circle a small campfire on a paved waterfront plaza beside a wooden-clad building.
Urban waterfront plaza with stepped terraces and brick buildings; pedestrians walk and a cyclist rides along the riverside path.

urban development
schematic design