Holzhofallee 36

An office building in Darmstadt's Verlegerviertel had stood empty for years. Rather than demolish it, we stripped it back to its load-bearing structure and rebuilt it as housing using prefabricated modules.

Living units, bathroom pods and facade elements arrived on site almost finished. They were joined with the plug-and-screw connection at the heart of the system, which also carries the heating and plumbing runs — so the services took shape with the structure rather than after it.

The result is seven storeys holding 197 apartments, served by two stairwells and a lift. Photovoltaics and a pellet boiler cover the building's energy, and demand fell by roughly 90 per cent against the original structure. Because every connection can be undone, the modules can be removed and reused instead of demolished.

Residents share common and study rooms and a large laundry, and bicycles are parked in the underground garage. The Hochschule is a short walk away, and a stop directly outside the entrance connects to Darmstadt city centre.