Case file · SOCKEL

Hanghaus Dortmund.

We build from the structure. The plinth as the language of the building — waterproof reinforced concrete that holds the slope and carries the living spaces. Concept, variant study, design and construction management from one hand.

File6018
Period2023 – 2024
Work phasesLP 1 – 8
LocationDortmund
Statuscompleted
Three visualizations from the concept phase. No construction photographs.
Visualization of the building in the slope: glass front, exposed-concrete wall, planted roof, staircase on the right
Building in the slope, view from the driveway Visualization · Concept

Think from the slope, not against it.

The slope in Dortmund-Lütgendortmund falls roughly 18 % to the south. Rather than levelling the volume out, we thought of the plinth as structure — a solid retaining wall of formwork concrete that holds the soil and at the same time takes up the lower living level.

Above it the main volume sits more lightly, with a set-back façade and a cantilevered roof. A gesture that draws the building away from the slope and at the same time acknowledges it.

Three layers. Three readings.

01

Plinth

Waterproof reinforced concrete, a white tank. Holds the slope, takes up the lower living level.

02

Living

CLT solid timber. Left exposed where it could be. Structurally decoupled on the plinth.

03

Roof

The PV layer. Closes off the volume and supplies own consumption plus the heat pump.

Triple-zero reading · carried through consistently
Zero Energy brine-to-water heat pump · 18 kWp PV · 12 kWh battery
Zero Emissions a material choice fit for the circular economy
Zero Waste formwork concrete with timber shuttering · exposed CLT, dismantlable later
Schematic section · three layers
03 · ROOF PV layer
02 · LIVING CLT solid timber
01 · BASE Waterproof concrete
≈ 18 % fall to the south not construction documents
Visualization, top view of the planted triangular roof with illuminated path edges
Top view, planted triangular roof Visualization · Concept
Visualization at dusk: warmly lit glass front, living level behind
Evening mood, living level behind the glass front Visualization · Concept
LP 1 – 8
General planning
KfW 40 Plus
Standard
≈ 0 kg/m²a
CO₂ balance
18 kWp
PV output
About the imagery

The images in this case file are concept visualizations from a deliberately generic model — not construction documents, not construction photographs. The reference itself stays anonymised to protect the client; the case-file register sets the frame of the documentation.

To the case-file register

If you are building on a slope, talk about the plinth first.

Way 01 · free of charge

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Price gross incl. VAT. Offers to consumers are issued in text form under § 7 (2) HOAI. Fees according to HOAI 2021. The HOAI phase 4 permit submission runs, for all projects requiring a building application, in cooperation with a partner architect registered in the AKNW architects list.

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