The end of March 2011 will mark the kick-off for the construction of what might well the greenest residential estate in Berlin's borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. On the plot at Württembergische Strasse 41-49, Bauwert Investment Group will raise a total of 210 condominiums and rental apartments with a GLA of around 14,000 m².
The housing complex with its scenic landscaping and parklands will bear the name of 'Rosengärten' German for 'rose garden'. The name refers to the 38 different types of roses that will flower in the quarter's gardens.
"The area at Württembergische Strasse is a prime example for fine urban living, both for tenants, and for owners. While situated in a quiet neighborhood spot, the location comes with an outstanding shopping and service spectrum due to its proximity to Kurfürstendamm," said Dr. Jürgen Leibfried, Partner of Bauwert Investment Group.
The usage concept developed by Prof. Arno Bonanni, D.En.Sci., emphasizes compact, economically sound apartment floor plans and uses the internal axes and vistas to make them generous and prestigious.
"The cubature, which redefines the streetscape between Olivaer Platz and Düsseldorfer Strasse in urban development terms, uses its special type of design to shape a variety of courtyards characterized by high quality of stay," elaborates Bonanni.
"It was for a good reason that we refrained from exploiting the volume that the local development plan permits, so as to achieve a plastic development in close touch with the fully landscaped outdoor area."
Most apartments feature balconies both on the street-side and on the park-like garden side, combining downtown living with a rural flair. When designing the eleven separate houses in the traditional plot width, it was of the essence to give each a distinguished original facade without compromising the harmony of the overall impression. It is not incidental, then, that the architecture fails to cater to mainstream taste, but orients itself to a timelessly classic canon of forms. Accordingly, the estate will represents itself for a long time to come as a grown residential development that integrates into the surrounding housing stock.
The middle part of the Rosengärten, Württembergische Strasse 44-47, was created by the Architects Patzschke.
"Our planning relies on specific design and color concepts of the zeitgeist. This creates the unmistakable character of a free-standing house. The objective is to build a vibrant, color-graded residential quarter that blends into the late-nineteenth-century picture of its surroundings," elaborates Rüdiger Patzschke.
"The outdoor landscaping takes its cues mainly from Berlin's historic garden architecture. Generous greenery, showy front-gardens, and produce-growing elements have always been part of the German capital's cityscape. We would like to revive this tradition at Rosengärten," said Frank von Bargen, landscape architect.
Moreover, the energy concept of Rosengärten satisfies the strict standards of our day and age. Rosengärten was conceptualized as a green building in compliance with the KfW-70 standard, which means that it conforms to the criteria of the subsidy programs for energy-efficient construction sponsored by the government-owned KfW banking group. This energy concept substantially lowers the consumption of primary energy.
The average rent rate in the quarter approximates 12.50/m². Condominiums cost between approximately 3,100 and 5,600/m².
"Our rent rates and purchase prices range in the middle-class price bracket. It happens to be a segment that is in high demand in this location," as Leibfried explains. "Before sales even started, we noted that interest was above-average. For instance, the rental apartments are already fully sold to a major German plan sponsor, and there are binding forward commitments for 40 condominium."
The construction of Rosengärten makes Bauwert Investment Group one of the few project developers building new homes in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf at the moment. The latest survey of Ch
