Residential Buildings Inner Harbour by Ingenhoven Architects: Two Building Blocks with A Precast Concrete Structure

At the Inner Harbour of Duisburg, there are two building blocks running parallel to the canal. Residential Buildings Inner Harbour follow the urban planning principle of perimeter blocks, contain 66 residential units. Completed in 2000 by an architect team from Ingenhoven Architects, these buildings are designed with a structure made of precast concrete.

Design

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These blocks have a recessed floor and four main storeys. They are highly elemental, distinctly oriented buildings that split up by transparent staircases. These staircases mark the way to the inner courtyard in the blocks. For the structure, the architect uses precast concrete material, same as the stairs. The staircase cross-walls can project loggias awesomely.

The modular timber facade of the blocks is also pre-manufactured and all facades have floor-to-ceiling prefabricated elements. The glazed basic modules are designed as sandwich panels and there are also three prefabricated timber elements that can be seen from the blocks’ design.

Structure

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Near the roof parapet and the gables, the tiered floor is fitted with timber cladding. This cladding is attached ti a timber substructure. The buildings’ windows are constructed in hemlock with a microporous varnish finish. while the panels and the tiered floors are made of untreated hemlock.

This awesome building shows the interacting effects of the different materials, including the characteristics of the surface. There is also a contrast between the solid timber-clad individual units, the timber windows, and the clean and natural-looking fair-finished visible concrete.