ADEPT and KARRES+BRANDS Win Master Plan for Oberbillwerder - The Connected City

Hamburg city center, Hamburg, Germany

Project's Summary

ADEPT and KARRES+BRANDS Win International Master Plan Competition for Oberbillwerder

ADEPT and KARRES+BRANDS, in collaboration with Transsolar, have been announced as the winners of an international master plan competition for a 360-hectare development area located near Hamburg's city center. Dubbed "the Connected City," the winning proposal aims to create a highly livable and vibrant city environment that prioritizes pedestrians, cyclists, and public transportation. The development, which will be the largest one-off development in Germany since Hafen City, will include a mix of housing, business, shopping, public buildings, and recreational activities.

Connecting City and Landscape

Situated between meadows, cultivated farming landscapes, and suburban sprawl, Oberbillwerder has enormous potential as an attractive urban development area. Just a 15-minute ride from the center of Hamburg, the area offers a unique location that combines the best of both city and landscape. The master plan for the area shows how Oberbillwerder can grow into a city of the future through a visionary approach to architecture, infrastructure, and resources.

A Green Artery for the Connected City

The Connected City's infrastructure will ensure rapid connections to Hamburg's city center while prioritizing pedestrians, cyclists, and public transportation. The development will feature a unifying green artery that encircles the plan, providing access to all neighborhoods, public buildings, and recreational activities. The development strategy embraces social, financial, and environmental sustainability, as well as climate adaptation, through a nuanced distribution of functions, typologies, and resources.

Mosaic of Neighborhoods

The master plan for the Connected City envisions a mosaic of neighborhoods that are linked by pedestrian and cyclist-friendly streets and blue/green arteries. The different characters of each neighborhood are defined by climate adaptation, offering future inhabitants the chance to choose between canal living, landscape living, or urban living. Each neighborhood will be the starting point for developing unique housing typologies and collective facilities, creating a diverse range of different living and working opportunities.

In conclusion, the Connected City is a forward-looking project that offers an excellent planning basis for the development of Oberbillwerder. The design concept deals very precisely with the sensitive cultural landscape and develops a very specific contribution to this location. With the possibility to design a lively, future-oriented district in a beautiful natural and cultural landscape, Oberbillwerder will become a district that shows us what Hamburg should look like in the future.

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