Competition Urban Center

Berlin

The Urban Center Neu-Hohenschönhausen project is to be developed in accordance with the basic principles of ecological and social sustainability, a new hotspot of urban biodiversity, a green hub in the ecological system of the metropolis. Municipally controlled urban development based on public housing companies and cooperatives can prevent the negative effects of speculation and gentrification. The planning implements various standards of green in order to radically improve the social and ecological quality of the urban context. By combining nature-based solutions with the help of innovative and sustainable technologies, new qualitative, spatial and livable standards are created. The aim is to create a modern and lively new urban district. In the medium term, Falkenberger Chaussee will be rethought as a lively green axis in connection with the transport transition and electric motorization.

The available plot of land with a surface area of around 6 hectares will be divided into three building plots: Building plot 1 along Falkenberger Chaussee: A large entrance pergola with a market hall marks the beginning and creates a connection with the neighboring shopping center. Living and working areas will be accommodated in a large modular and hybrid city shelf in two sections. With its perfect southwest orientation and green terraces, it fulfills people's desire for contact with nature and for sufficient open space with privacy. All infrastructure facilities of the new district, small shops, library, theater, family center, and an above-ground neighborhood garage for 200 cars will be integrated into the city shelf. A green high-rise building forms the signature.

Construction site 2 west of the cinema: The Berlin apartment block is being rethought, diagonally and modularly, with a diverse mix of apartments, duplex apartments if possible, townhouses integrated on the ground floor and first floor with direct access, enclosed and green inner courtyard, allotments in the courtyard and on the roof.

Construction site 3 east of the cinema: A cooperative quarter is planned here with a participatory planning model for alternative and communal forms of living and working, 30% cluster apartments + commercial/creative workshops + a public and green courtyard for community activities outdoors.

A completely CO2-neutral wooden city with model character is proposed. With wood from urban planning to the execution details, the new urban district also gets its own aesthetic identity. The creation of vertical and horizontal green spaces contributes to the character. Modularity and flexibility of the building elements in combination with simple and robust structures should promote longevity and a continuous mix of uses.

The interface between living and the city is formed by the ground floor and access zones, as well as arcades and staircases. The aim is to create lively spaces with a variety of uses and community offers. Courtyards and small, intimate squares offer village security, but also the opportunity for networking, new urban hotspots.

ECOLOGY

The use of state-of-the-art irrigation and rainwater collection systems and the selection of native plants - with high CO2 storage capacity, removal of air pollutants and attraction for pollinating insects - are among the core points of the project to increase comfort in the buildings and the well-being of the community. The new district is to have car-reduced living. The central district street will be traffic-calmed and developed as an Active Street.

In line with the ecological approach, Falkenberger Chaussee will be intensively greened and calmed with new rows of trees. A municipal sports park with covered sports fields will be built along the railway tracks in the green embankment under the railway overpass. On the south side of Falkenberger Chaussee, a new attractive train station with an integrated mobility hub (car sharing, e-bike station, bicycle parking garage) is planned in the form of a large roof folding over the tracks.

Living Mixed Public Retail Wood

Data

Competition

2021

Address

Falkenberger Chaussee
13057 Berlin

Awarding Authority

Senate Department for Urban Development and Housing

Partner

Landscape architecture:
Hannes Hörr, Stuttgart

Competition Multi-Generational House With Day Care Facility

Salach

Salach is getting a new garden. A “garden for everyone”. It used to be allotment gardens, parceled out in miniature, inaccessible to the public. Today it is a large meadow, flanked by multi-storey residential buildings, the buildings of the local fire department, a house for senior citizens and the new “House for All”. The center is the garden. It connects everything and is intended to become a place where people enjoy spending time - a new green center, with fruit trees, other deciduous trees, beds that are cultivated together, deckchairs in the shade of the trees, small ponds in which rainwater collects and a photovoltaic pergola. The view goes over the railroad line to the Schachenmayer site - striking buildings, significant for the history of the town and important for its appearance in the future. We do not want to obstruct this view and propose a glass wall as protection against noise emissions from rail traffic - unpretentious in design, inconspicuous in the townscape.

Development + Floor Plan

The “House for All” is addressed on Messelbergstrasse. A small forecourt connects the entrances to all units and is also suitable for small events. The rooms of the Ü3 daycare center are located on the first floor and surround an approx. 800 m2 green inner courtyard with direct access to the “Garden for All”. The U3 nursery is located above this on the upper floor with a covered play terrace. This allows the children to keep an eye on each other. The family center is organized over two floors. The ground floor opens directly onto the garden and is connected to the upper floor via an air space and gallery, which also has direct terrace access to the garden. The entrance to the young people's rooms flanks the entrance square. The façade of the rehearsal room can be opened up completely, turning it into a stage and the covered entrance area into an auditorium. A terrace on the upper floor (east) extends the space and signals independence to the young people through the location and arrangement of these rooms.

The visitor parking lot will be at ground level, close to the entrance, between the “Haus für Alle” and the municipal depot. Delivery, waste disposal etc. are also arranged here. Only a small part of the building will have a basement - for storage areas, building services, etc.

Color

Areas of colour characterize the different areas. We don't want to simply “paint” walls and ceilings - all colors are independent elements. They are independent of the surfaces they are applied to and support the design and space. Some colors are reminiscent of summer, some of spring, others of autumn or winter.

Construction + Material

The house is planned as a timber frame construction. Ceiling and roof surfaces are integrated into the structure as compact timber hollow core ceilings and form a smooth soffit. The bracing is provided by combined access/sanitary cores made of solid timber components (cross-laminated timber), which are dimensioned for burn-off, as are other load-bearing components. All opaque façades are constructed with vertical inverted cladding. The façade surfaces of the upper floor overlap those of the first floor for optimized water drainage. All roof surfaces can do more - they are either energy-generating surfaces (PV) or greened, thus ensuring reduced rainwater runoff. The remaining rainwater is collected in a cistern and fed into the gray water system.

Energy concept

To optimize visual and thermal comfort while reducing investment and operating costs by minimizing the installed building technology and maximizing passive use (storage masses, air flow, etc.) - no dependence on fossil fuels.

Ventilation concept, particularly in the assembly areas, with mechanical basic ventilation - supply air via displacement air outlets, exhaust air at a central point for heat recovery. Minimization of the air volume to the amount of fresh air required by the user and consistent minimization of the pressure loss in the duct network and the ventilation units.

Low heating requirement due to high thermal insulation standards via surface heating (floor) with low temperature or ventilation (assembly rooms). Intelligent use of heat sources and sinks in the building, as well as covering residual energy requirements with natural resources wherever possible. Waste heat from artificial light can be used for temperature control in other areas (ancillary rooms, offices). This networking of energy sources and sinks makes it possible to “shift” the energy within the building and reduce the use of additional energy.

Activation of the soil using a compact soil absorber and a reversible heat pump for the supply and removal of heat as required, with a constant soil temperature all year round and a high heat pump performance factor to cover the base load when heating is required. Due to the large-scale thermally activated floor areas in the building, the existing soil temperature can also be used for direct cooling over a long period of the year. If the soil temperature exceeds the possibility of direct cooling, the compact soil absorber is used to cool the refrigeration machine (reversible heat pump).

Mixed Public Wood

Awards

Appreciation

Open implementation competition