Fragmenting an Industrial Superblock into Urban Quarters Rethinking the Grid: Chen Suzanne 5176458 Roger Bundschuch Dagmar Pelger 01 July 2026 Summer Semester 2026 Supervisors:
Surname, first name(s): Student ID no.: Degree program: Declaration of academic integrity (Selbstständigkeitserklärung) By signing below, I declare that I have completed this thesis entitled independently and have not yet submitted the same or a similar version for assessment in another degree program. I have indicated all resources and sources I have used, including generative models/AI, and have marked passages taken verbatim or by analogy from the resources and sources used in the form of citations. I have not used any other resources. Place, date Signature Chen Suzanne 5176458 MA. Architecture (DIA) Rethinking the Grid: Fragmenting an Industrial Superblock into Urban Quarters 01.07.2026
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In the 1900s, Harburg was one of Germany’s major industrial cities Harburg, located in the south of Hamburg, carries a strong industrial identity. Its urban fabric was shaped by factories, warehouses, railway infrastructure, production halls, and large-scale industrial compounds. Rather than developing as a fine-grained resi- dential district, Harburg grew through working landscapes of manufacturing, logistics, and infrastructure. This industrial legacy gives the district its distinct character, but it also produces spatial challenges. Many former industrial sites remain large, inward-looking, and difficult to access. Their scale often interrupts the surrounding urban fabric, creating physical and social dis- tance between the site and everyday city life. The Phoenix AG also reflects this condition. It is not only a collection of industrial buildings, but also a fragment of Harburg’s historical identity.
Figure Ground Figure Ground (GF) Entrance Site Boundary Constraint (x) Visual + Movement (x) Vision + Perceptual (x) Movement
Connectivity to Transportation Hub Hbf & Zob Exit Passageway Connectivity Obstructed Level Difference Connectivity to Nature Connectivity Obstructed Lake / River / Canal Park
Connectivity to North Commercial & Work Passageway No Access Connectivity Obstructed Level Difference Connectivity to West Commercial & Work Commerical + Residential Residential Connectivity Obstructed Level Difference Institutional Industrial & Logistic Passageway
Commercial & Work Residential Connectivity Obstructed Level Difference Institutional Industrial & Logistic Passageway Connectivity to South Connectivity to East Commercial & Work Commerical + Residential Residential Connectivity Obstructed Level Difference Institutional Industrial & Logistic Passageway Exit
Commercial & Work Residential Connectivity Obstructed Level Difference Institutional Industrial & Logistic Passageway ExitSTUDIO BUNDSCHUH WS25 / 26 Connectivity with Surrounding Context Hbf & Zob No Access Commerical + Residential Lake / River / Canal Park The industrial site appears as a large, enclosed block within the city. Its scale and limited access interrupt the surrounding urban fabric, creating a clear separation between the site and its context.
Commercial & Work Residential Connectivity Obstructed Level Difference Institutional Industrial & Logistic Passageway Exit What if a new road network is superimposed onto the industrial site? Hbf & Zob No Access Commerical + Residential Lake / River / Canal Park Instead of treating the existing buildings as fixed barriers, the new grid cuts through the large industrial mass and divides the site into several smaller quarters. These cuts open the site to its surroundings, extend the logic of the existing urban fabric, and create new possibilities for public access, movement, and programmatic transformation.
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Concept Development 1 Phoenix AG / Continental AG Existing Building Blocks From Industrial Island to Urban Fabric
3 Demolish the building parts that overlap with the new road extension Removing Overlaps 2 Lengthen the adjacent road into the site to introduce a new urban connection Extending the Road
Defining New Public Spaces 5 Use the new cuts to shape different public spatial qualities, including streets and spaces between buildings 4 Create new façades along the cut areas Redefining the Cut Edge
6 Choose one quarter as a focused design area to test the proposed strategy in detail Selecting a Quarter A Focus area for detailed design development Selected Quarter
C New Addition B Removal of Building Blocks
E Results D Proposed Programmes Residential Recreational Commercial Institutional & Public Cultural & Civic
F.G Retail01 01 04 06 07 Library02 Sports Hall03 Market & Food Hall04 Residential (Lobby + Communal Space)05 200 04 04 03 Dormitory (Lobby + Communal Space)06 Co-living (Lobby)07 02 05
F.1 Retail01 01 04 05 Library02 Sports Hall03 Market & Food Hall04 Dormitory (Communal Space)05 200 04 04 03 02
F.2 Office01 01 04 05 07 Residential (Units)02 Residential (Communal Space)03 Dormitory (Units)04 Dormitory (Communal Space)05 200 02 03 06 Co-living (Units)06 Co-living (Communal Space)07
F.3 Office01 01 03 04 06 Residential (Units)02 Dormitory (Units)03 Dormitory (Communal Space)04 Co-living (Units)05 200 02 05 Co-living (Communal Space)06
F.4 Office01 01 03 04 06 Residential (Units)02 Dormitory (Units)03 Dormitory (Communal Space)04 Co-living (Units)05 200 02 05 Co-living (Communal Space)06
F.5 Office01 01 02 03 05 Dormitory (Units)02 Dormitory (Communal Space)03 Co-living (Units)04 Co-living (Communal Space)05 200 04
F.6 Office01 01 03 02 Dormitory (Communal Space)02 Co-living (Communal Space)03 200
F.7 Office01 01 200 F.9-
F.R 200
Connection on Existing Brick Facade Connection on Cut Surface Facade Varies Across Extension
Rooftop Terrace Common Area on Co-living Floors
Anhalt University of Applied Sciences Dessau International Architecture MA. Architecture