LOVE Architecture and Urbanism have recently designed this residential block - the Baufeld 10 building in Hamburg, Germany.

It's part of 'HafenCity Hamburg'; a new district covering 157 hectares currently being developed directly on the city's port and comprises a mixed bag of uses, from residential to commercial, and everything in between.

The block is situated in an area within the Dallmannkai, directly on the water's edge and in direct proximity to the 'Elbphilharmonie' – a concert hall currently being developed by the Herzog & de Meuron.

A great number of different architecture companies won competitions to design various buildings for the new area, but LOVE's project came with a special challenge:

The Baufeld 10 project was developed in a joint building venture, meaning that the various future residents worked together to create a real community for the new building.

Consequently, Baufeld 10 houses many different building typologies with all kinds of furnishing standards: from very large apartments (up to around 225m²) to smaller units (roughly 50m²), which feature entirely different designs, from one-storey apartments, to maisonettes that stretch across four storeys.

Each of the 28 new residents can now enjoy his or her unique lifestyle within his or her apartment – whether horizontal or vertical – whether in a small or a big apartment.

Viewed from the outside, the residential building presents a gleaming white structure formed of slightly bevelled cubes and with generously proportioned, slightly bevelled window openings.

The configuration of these window openings matches the layout of the apartments behind them and each apartment has a balcony which protrudes from the building.

The facade, which serves as an outside composite thermal insulation system, was provided with a 'natural stone plaster' surface - a mix of natural stone grains with mica, which causes the facade to sparkle slightly in the sun.