+ BARRIER FREE ACCESS IN BAMLACH

The „Marienheim Bamlach“ home for disabled people needs to be replaced. The competition brief included apartments for general use as well, under the condition that the entire area including all apartments be designed for disabled people. We participated in this invited competition in 2016.

Our general intention follows the principle of inclusion, which is expressed on an urban level already: We placed the apartments for disabled according to the LHeimBauVO (state code for homes for the disabled) at the point where the different levels of the project including the exterior areas – each of them designed barrier free – intersect and can be accessed by a public elevator. Thus the inhabitants are always in the center of all circulation and events. Consequently, all circulation areas of this building including the public outdoor areas are oriented towards the outside. This creates an atmosphere of communication, that encourages interaction – and it maximizes sunlight exposure.

The communal living in the newly planned area creates a new quality of living. Besides the design qualities of the project and the maintaining of the existing wine production facilities we would like to point out the projected new functions such as the village store and the possible assembly hall, maybe even a small country side pub, which would contribute to the communal spirit of the village and allow the identification of the new inhabitants with their home. With the newly planted vineyards within the project, one could even image the small production of wine. The place of the Marienheim thus gains back, many years after the destruction of the old castle that was situated here originally, an important function within the village. The enlarged park, that is available to the public, contributes to this as well.