MVRDV has revealed its plans to redevelop the former Mannheim US Army camp in Germany, creating a green mound from demolished barracks and four residential towers that spell out the word home.
The Dutch firm's designs for the 144-hectare Franklin Mitte neighbourhood in Mannheim are intended to introduce density and diversity to the monotonous plan of barracks.

Aimed at local families leaving the German city due to a lack of an attractive housing, the new community will also connect an isolated area of the city with a scenic forest nearby.
The Green Hill will be made from the remains of demolished barracks buildings and built around and over existing buildings. As the central hub, it will house a shops, restaurants, cafes and community spaces. A pathway cutting through the centre of the large mound and piercing through some of the old structures, will provide a connection to the residential areas.

From the top, the hill will provide a panoramic view of the four new housing developments arranged around it. Each one will be shaped to resemble a letter from the word home.
"The Green Hill is the central icon of this revitalised neighbourhood, a park heart of the community for people to walk on, relax, a great panoramic look out onto the neighbourhood and its HOME towers," said MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas.

"With a series of investors a variety of typologies and interpretations of the past is celebrated," he continued.
"A primary axis, t...