As a public gesture, the design introduces a raised public enclave which allows visual access to the canal, the steps leading to it also double as urban seating and meeting place, creating an inclusive urban interface.
– Phillippe Fouché

SAOTA have designed a mixed-use development for Hamburg, Germany, that is aimed at combining work and leisure elements within a sustainable ecosystem.

Covering 45,000sq m (485,000sq ft), the Neuländer Quarree site will feature restaurants, retail spaces, a hotel, a nursery, 548 apartments and a variety of functions on the roof of the development. There will also be a multi-storey car park, office space and a technology park.

The development is designed to achieve net-zero energy use and will employ a variety of approaches to do so, including geothermal, wood pellet-fuelled and photovoltaic generation.

Outwardly angled brick façades, meanwhile, will help to optimise solar exposure for heating and lighting apartments and will also contribute towards the privacy of balconies.

Having won an architectural competition for the Neuländer Quarree development, SAOTA's design was highly commended in the Residential Future Project category at the World Architecture Festival last month.

Discussing the project after the recognition, SAOTA director Phillippe Fouché said: "What sets this project apart is the introduction of communal roof gardens and a variety of social functions on the roof, including sports facilities with running and walking routes, outside dining areas, toddler and kids play areas, an outside cinema and a large area dedicated to urban agriculture.

"As a public gesture, the design introduces a raised public enclave which allows visual access to the canal, the steps leading to it also double as urban seating and meeting place, creating an inclusive urban interface."

Construction is scheduled to begin this year and is expected to be completed in 2023.