“Roof Becomes Stair transforms a modest restoration task into a sculptural intervention rooted in the multi-layered logic of Venetian architecture. The project at the Salone Verde Art & Social Club uses redundant horizontal roof beams removed during heritage conservation work to construct a new wooden spiral staircase leading to a once inaccessible roof gallery. The approach combines craftsmanship and critical reflection, embedding ideas of sustainability and reuse in both form and process.”

– Evaluation by the international jury

Jurymitglieder:
Clément Blanchet (cba | Frankreich)
Sam Brown (O’DonnellBrown | Schottland)
Didier Fiúza Faustino (Didier Faustino | Frankreich)
Jun Igarashi (Jun Igarashi Architects | Japan)
Lydia Kallipoliti (Tallin Architecture Biennale, ANAcycle thinktank | USA)
Lera Samovich (Fala Atelier | Portugal)
Silvana Ordinas (Founder and Partner, Peter Pichler Architecture | Italien)
Danielle Reimers (SAOTA | Südafrika)

Learn more about the project

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PRESERVING THE PAST. EMBRACING THE NEW. Culture of adaptive Reuse in Berlin

“For us, this means taking a thoughtful approach to preserving and creatively developing existing buildings. As we see it, reuse culture relies on the potential of existing buildings. Instead of demolition and new construction, it opens up avenues for sustainable urban development with high design quality.

In our exhibition “PRESERVING THE EXISTING. CREATING THE NEW. Culture of adaptive Reuse in Berlin,” we ask ourselves what has already been achieved in this area in Berlin and what potential still remains to be tapped.”

-Exhibition announcement by the Senate Department for Urban Development, Construction, and Housing

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PA.bestpic September

This Everyday Wonder was discovered by our team member Artur, just a stone’s throw away from our Berlin office. The curious door to the outside on the façade of the building project on Strelitzer Straße is a response by FAT KOEHL ARCHITEKTEN to the city planning authorities’ refusal to allow balconies on the street front. These were deemed not typical for the street.

PA.bestpic August

The Walden 7 never gets old and has inspired us once again this month—our team member Mathilda (re)discovered the icon built by Bofill in 1975 and brought it into our discourse. Incidentally, it got its name from descriptions of a utopian community in Thoreau’s work Walden. The modularly and with numerous community spaces designed building itself also strives for new forms of cohabitation.

PA.bestpic Juli

Our favorite find comes from our team member Artur and shows the miniature exhibition Wohnen im Viereck (Kollektiv Schroffke), currently on display at Schaubude Berlin. Through the superimposed reflection of the real cityscape in the window pane, this bestpic tells of dreams and reality and everything in between. What do you dream of?

PA.bestpic June

Our team member Anna discovered the old customs house during a trip through the Punta Bianca nature reserve in Sicily. It was once an important hub for daily trade. Now abandoned and located away from the hustle and bustle of modern life on the Scala di Turchi, it seems to have become part of the surrounding nature.

PA.bestpic May

The bestpic by our team member Nikitas shows the largest roof garden in Europe – the roof of the university library in Warsaw has a botanical garden covering an area of around 1.5 hectares. The roof also offers a sweeping view over the city with the Vistula and the famous Palace of Culture.

PA.bestpic April

The bestpic with the title “Abandoned” was taken by our team member Julia during a trip to Crete and tells the story of a village whose youth has been steadily migrating to the city for about 30 years. With the passing of the older generations, only the houses left behind, now in ruins, tell the story of the lives of the former inhabitants and thus the global phenomenon of rural exodus…

PA.bestpic March

Our favorite is from our team member Anna and bears the title “Place of Silence” – because the church you can see is located secluded on the small island of Blejski Otok in Slovenia’s Lake Bled. As there are no roads or ferries connecting it to the mainland, it can only be reached by rowing boat.

PA.bestpic February

Our winning entry is from our team member Anna and was taken earlier this year during our office trip to Copenhagen. It is entitled “Dialogue with Nature” – displaying the Opera Park København, designed by our colleagues at Cobe.

PA.bestpic January

Our favorite is from our youngest team member Mathilda and was taken earlier this year during our office trip to Copenhagen:

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Creative visions at prominent locations in Dortmund that would certainly have fundamentally changed the city in terms of its aesthetics and function. As diverse as the selection of typologies on display may be, they are united by their close connection to the eventful history of Dortmund as a Ruhr metropolis, with all its upheavals.

What if all these designs had become reality?

Go to Project: UNBUILT – Projects in Dortmund

Go to Publication: UNBUILT – Map Dortmund

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“What we need most is housing and energy” – Genya Moore, Ukrainian architect

Since the start of the war in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the country has suffered massive destruction. Millions of people have fled, cities have been devastated, and the energy supply has been destroyed. Inspired by her conversation with Genya Moore and her initiative “RE:LIFE UKRAINE,” Anna Waldmann wants to contribute to the reconstruction with her design: by combining living space and work. The focus here is on sunflower cultivation—as an economic foundation and a powerful symbol of hope and resistance. Blooming towards the sun stands for a new home, self-sufficiency, and a future in the western part of Ukraine.

Award in the Architecture + Engineering Category

Project title: RE-LIFE UKRAINE | blooming towards the sun
Master thesis at the Hochschule für Technik Stuttgart
Supervision: Prof. Ralf Petersen

(Photo: René Müller)

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*Thank you & farewell, Copenhagen!

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The Mühlengrundquartier stands for future-oriented urban development that both takes into account the needs of local people and meets the requirements of ecological and social urban development. With a successful mix of living and working spaces, public open spaces and a well thought-out infrastructure, the project makes an important contribution to urban development.

The award ceremony will take place according to the “Oscars” principle on July 25, 2025 at the Akademie der Künste on Pariser Platz in Berlin. It will be accompanied by a symposium on the topic of circularity and will highlight current relationships between urban development and social change. The nominated projects will also be presented in a nationwide traveling exhibition.

We are excited about the further development and look forward to the next steps in this important process!

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L’Università degli Studi della Repubblica di San Marino (UNI.RSM) stands for a future-oriented education at the interface of art, design and innovation. The Faculty of Design at UNI.RSM offers a unique, interdisciplinary platform that combines creativity and technical expertise. Students have the opportunity to learn in an inspiring environment characterized not only by international professors, but also by the architecture and cultural heritage of the Republic of San Marino.

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The Deutschlandstipendium supports students with outstanding academic performance and social commitment. The scholarship enables these exceptional students to concentrate fully on their studies and their social contribution.

PETERSENARCHITEKETEN wishes Jan Hartung every success in his studies.

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