New urban living – truly Berlin
Housing District Gehrenseestrasse
Location: Berlin, Germany
Client: Belle Époque, HOWOGE
Programme:Mixed-use residential project with ca. 1.800 new apartments, a school and small shops
The mixed-use residential project will provide ca. 1.800 new apartments, a school and small shops. After a two stage competition, MLA+ was declared the winner and is commissioned to further develop the plan.
The urban design is both an expression of a strong spatial idea, as well as a reaction to the challenging noise levels of the site. Based on the typical Berlin housing typology of tenements arranged around an inner court block, the proposal is inspired by early 20th century Reformarchitektur. The outer block edges, connected by “living bridges”, form an effective protection against the noise. As a result, the district’s interior is characterized by attractive, generous, green and quiet open spaces.
The composition of the urban blocks generates an open space network of squares, courtyards and gardens, each with a different character. Along the perimeter the new quarter is framed by square-like openings forming clearly visible links to the public spaces in the adjacent neighbourhoods. The two centrally located semi-public courtyards serve neighbourly gathering and are identifiable addresses at the same time. The private garden courtyards which are accessible via passageways form unique and rather intimate “green worlds”.
Stages:
2018 Competition, concept refinement
Awards:
2018 Design competition, 1st prize
Team:
MLA+: Markus Appenzeller, Richard Gray, Andrew Kitching, Christoph Michael, Maximilian Müller, Natalya Pirogova, Martin Probst, Magdalena Szczypka, Mateusz Zielinski
Landscape: Atelier Loidl
