Ciel et Terre Residential Tower

Text description provided by architect.

This striking new 18-story residential high rise stands in Düsseldorf, in the area of the old freight train station. On the outside, it stands in contrast with other high rises in the neighborhood by its appearance.

On the inside, it is organized differently. Thus, all flats are surrounded by a terrace-belt of varying depth that extends the perceived size of the apartments and allows dwellers to personalize their outer space, including a large room-like terrace with masonry walls.

Typically, a developer high rise repeats a floor plan from bottom to top. Here, in contrast, the building is conceived of as a vertical village, where, like in a village, different housing types attract different types of dwellers.

Social diversity is encouraged by overlapping different living types in one building. Thus, maisonettes with direct private entrances from the street are accommodated on the first two floors of the building.

In the following five floors above, compact apartments for single or twin households are placed, followed by larger flats for families on floors seven to 15.

There are 155 housing units in all. The tower sits in the middle of the block and is flanked by two additional 8-story ‘wings’ with additional housing. Between the tower and the busy street in the northeast, a new hotel is being built which will provide acoustical privacy to the inner court.