Office for Living Architecture

Stuttgart's great demand for living space calls for high-density neighborhoods. In parallel, the quality of the environment and the quality of life in the city as a whole need to be improved. This can only be achieved if the city itself is understood as a form of nature, and thus also as a continuous process, as a growing, constantly changing system. In the Stöckach urban biotope, new forms of coexistence and interaction with nature are being explored that combine ecologically efficient green structures that can be experienced with intensive building use.

A key factor here is the improved integration and use of water cycles. First, rainwater is collected and later used for irrigation. This minimizes the impact of heavy rain events and minimizes the consumption of additional water. Second, graywater generated in the neighborhood is collected, treated and also used for irrigation. As a result, sufficient water is available even in dry summers.

In this way, a sustainable symbiosis between city and nature is created for the increasingly hot and dry summers: humans supply the plant with water all year round; the plant provides humans with shade, cooling and fresh air.