House by the Canal

Roloff • Ruffing

Housing for the Elderly
Krausestraße, Hamburg

completion 2003
BGF 2.320 qm
client: Alter & Pflege e.V., Hamburg


Different types of accommodation for elderly people are all offered under one roof.
In Hamburg today a so far unique mixture of ambulant care in combination with different grades of in-patient care and non-dependent living is practiced. Because of its innovative care concept, the initiative was promoted by the Federal Government as well as by the City of Hamburg as an exemplary project.
From an urban planning perspective, the building completes the row of houses in Krausestraße and, as a corner building, formulates the change of direction to the side of the canal.
Its structure is based on three single houses that together form one building.
The L-form generated protectively encloses an inner courtyard. The internal zones created by the single cubes form the community areas. Story-high glazed facades produce a brightly lit, highly residential interior. In this way, the building is pleasantly differentiated with exciting and diversified inward- and outward-looking views.

On the initiative of the architects, the artist Esther Naused and the residents have all contributed to the cause of art in building. A large "memory-painting" was created in a workshop and hangs in the communal stair-well.