Erfurt is a charming medeival city in central Germany known for its authentic medieval architecture, beautiful parks and bridges, and of course its famous Thuringer wurst. Our site was in the financial district of the city adjacent to the train station and tracks. Bridges, learning, water, and parks, all conditions of the city, collide on the site in the form of a sustainable village centered around a living machine.
Program includes a museum, library, office space and housing in the tower. All of these functions are linked together by a water management system where black water is continually recycled and cleaned in the wetlands of a living machine.
The museum is centered around this sustainanble way of living. Clean grey water is also used to irrigate gardens and a small rooftop urban farm, and is eventually discharged into the adjacent river via the creek running through the site, physically linking the buildings to one another along the path of water.
Nearly all buildings in Erfurt are of a similar scale with varying material, color, and articulation. Offsets in the fabric create richness and unique spaces. Erfurt is also a city of towers, thus, external circulation towers, or turrets, create a miniature city embodying Erfurt.