Neue Mitte Porz

The project Neue Mitte is set to give the centre of Porz its characteristic look once again; a look that, with its relationship between house, town, square, street and lane, is in keeping with the idea of the European city. With its five clearly structured gables, the new building gives the impression of being a serial manifestation of the archetypal house. As such, it can be interpreted equally as a block consisting of individual houses or as a whole structure that recreates the silhouette of the city. Distinctive, offset window bays enhance the building’s monolithic appearance and add to its sculptural character. With its deep embrasures bevelled in different directions, the openings seem to be woven into the wall, lending the facade a particular plasticity. The building thus seeks to forge a link to the earliest types of walls in form of fabric. Through its loggias and deep reliefs, the wall itself, acting as a mediator between inside and outside, between urban and interior space, simultaneously establishes its own spaces, breaking down the strict division between the inside and the outside world. The result is a space that is neither one nor the other, but a formal mediator between the two.