Klostergärten Cologne: Inspirational urban living

The prestigious PANDION Klostergärten development occupies a 40,000-square-metre site in Cologne’s historic Junkersdorf district. Once home to the TV station RTL, it has been redeveloped as a location for stylish living and working.

Despite the urban setting, Klostergärten incorporates plenty of green space, and is situated right next to the Cloister Garden park, from which the project takes its name. The result is a feeling of tranquility and harmony, which makes for an exciting contrast with the bold modern architecture of the buildings.

An urban planning competition was held in 2012, and kister scheithauer gross (ksg) won the right to design 6 apartment blocks for part of the site. Work on the buildings was completed in 2016.

About the project

The apartment blocks cover a total area of 20,000 m². In spite of their obvious modernity, they clearly reference Cologne’s historic cityscape. As ksg partner Johannes Kister explains, ‘The formal composition of the buildings recalls traditional park villas and city residences.

In particular, the vertically oriented windows, which extend from floor to ceiling, establish an architectural vocabulary that emphasizes height and elegance.’ These striking full-length windows are set alongside coloured panels that increase their visual impact still further.

But the overall sense of verticality is created not just by windows, but by many features and details. Notably, each block is topped by a cleverly recessed penthouse apartment.



With their attractive natural surroundings and expansive windows, it was essential that the balconies of the apartments did not obstruct the view. Easy Glass Pro was therefore a natural choice for the glass railings around the balconies.

This system is designed to create a feeling of openness and freedom – whether it is installed indoors or outdoors. At Klostergärten, its minimal structure lets light flood in through the windows.



Although the non-transparent parts of the Easy Glass Pro railings are minimal, it was still important that they suited ksg’s overall design concept. The client therefore selected a stainless steel cap rail to finish off the full glass railing.

The base shoe itself is made of high-grade aluminium, eliminating the need for any cladding. The effect is one of chic modernity.

Furthermore, the railing is mounted right on the edge of the balcony, which helps to emphasise the vertical character of the buildings’ design. This was possible thanks to the special F-shaped aluminium base shoe in the Easy Glass Pro range.



But Easy Glass Pro offered the developers more than just good looks. One of the major advantages of the system is that it allows all adjustments to be carried out from the inner side of the railing.

That means no scaffolding, which is a major advantage when working at height, as was the case in the Klostergärten project.



In general, installation of an Easy Glass Pro railing couldn’t be more straightforward. Its base shoe incorporates the ingenious Safety Wedge system that allows you to adjust each glass panel by up to 1 cm.

The perfect alignment of the balcony railings at Klostergärten is a great example of the impressive results that can be achieved.