townvillas | Stefan Forster

When looking at the eight town villas on the southern fringes of Leinefelde, it quickly reveals why this city has long served as a model for the urban redevelopment in areas of the former GDR. The transformation of a 200 metre long building block made of prefabricated slabs into eight separate, free-standing houses represents the most recent example of this exemplary process of urban redevelopment. Rental contracts for all eight town villas were already established before the beginning of their construction. Stefan Forster, the architect in charge, responded to individual wishes regarding ground plans for the flats and created unique flat designs with the help of lightweight construction materials. Forster´s design strategy was to bring together the idea of a collective element created by the original urban design of the complex with the idea of individualism represented by the now freestanding town villas. The architect and his team tore down every second staircase and the adjoining flats and removed one storey from each of the now separate buildings. As a playful element, disguised steel balconies were added, spreading along the façade facing south and west. With a depth of 1.8 metres, these balconies respectively are invisible due to the concreting of the entire surface of the buildings, with the architect sacrificing the transparency of the construction for the sunny appearance of the individual villas. This effect is enhanced by the changing colours across the different sides of the buildings. From an urban development perspective, the strong colour scheme also makes sense: enhancing the unified appearance of the buildings from the outside, the cubic-shaped villas throw a refreshing light onto the surrounding residential area. Two villas each share an entrance pathway, courtyard, and a cubic concrete construction containing the letterboxes and doorbell system.