At the time of its completion UDQ was the world's largest residential building in modular timber construction. The building offers micro-appartments for 371 students as part of a new residential district in the Wilhelmsburg area of Hamburg. This area was developed to build on the experimental character of the 2013 International Building Exhibition and embody the principles of Universal Design: sustainable, simple and inclusive.
The ground floor structure and the three service cores are in conventional reinforced concrete, forming a ‘tabletop’ on which the prefabriacated residential modules are stacked. Below the cantilevered tabletop there are spaces enclosed in full-height glazing for communal use and gastronomy, while open-air spaces between the cores make the building permeable withing the urban fabric, as well as providing covered parking for four hundred bicycles.
The apartments are 20sqm each, are completely prefabricated from solid wood and were delivered to site complete with fixtures and fittings. The wood was left exposed on every internal surface, contributing to creating a warm, comfortable and healthy indoor climate for the residents. The facade is clad in greyed larch wood in prefabricated panels.
- WohnbauPreis Hamburg 2017 - iF Design Award 2018 - DAM Preis für Architektur in Deutschland 2019, nomination - BDA Hamburg Architektur Preis 2018, 3rd Prize - Bundeswettbewerb HolzbauPlus 2018, Honorable Mention - MIPIM Award 2019 - Deutscher Holzbaupreis 2019 - Holzbaupreis 2020 for Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg
