Europacity Berlin Stadthafenquartier Baufeld 7
AWARDING AUTHORITY
Stadthafenquartier
Europacity Berlin GmbH & Co. KG
PROGRAM
Housing, Businesses
GFA 7,100 sqm
BC 7,500,000 € gross
RESULTS
1st Prize category, invided architectural workshop
LPh 2-4
Rohdecan Architekten
2014-2016
North of main station and the government district, Berlin’s biggest central conversion area is developed into a 40-hectare urban neighbourhood providing a mix of housing, business and leisure use. One central part of this new Europacity is Stadthafenquartier Süd, which is outlined by Heidestraße, Spandauer Schifffahrtskanal and the district’s new central square. During a workshop, rohdecan developed the central segments of this new quarter’s northern plots.
According to the result of an urban design competition, plot no. 7 shall be developed as a closed block consisting of six segments with different heights and sizes. Apart from the enclosed living courtyard, the western part of the frame will have a common yard with the commercially used buildings in plot no. 8. To be in line with the Berlin-Block inspired scheme given by the competition, one house is defined as individual but characterised as part of a whole. Houses have their own addresses and articulate individual but similar façades towards the public space. Different colours of brickwork and different lengths of balconies support the principle of homogenous variety.
The ground floor is lifted by 1,35 m over street level, which allows for better privacy conditions in the ground floor apartments and higher ceilings for the retail spaces. A half-meter step separates the private terraces from the commonly used green courtyard. The upper apartments have big loggias oriented towards the block’s outside. Two thirds of the apartments are both-side oriented with their bedrooms facing the inner yard.
The buildings will be realised as a double-wall brickwork construction with façades made of exposed masonry. Offsetting every second lane of bricks strengthens the texture in the podium zone. Wide concrete cornices provide the horizontal structure and serve as French balconies for the upper flats. This traditional theme of roadside ornate balconies is furthermore expressed through the use of delicate steel railings as a reminiscense of historic wrought-iron banisters. The courtyard facades are smoothly plastered and, referring to the outside facades, windows of one flat are put into groups through slight changes in colour. Summer heat protection is provided constructively by the surrounding balconies/cornices and furthermore through the use of solar-control glass and external blinds. High quality brickwork sustains long time and thus keeps the building’s maintenance costs low. The use of closed panels within the wide openings helps reducing the glazed surface and hence avoiding heat losses. Residents can manually ventilate and heat their apartments. Sixty percent of the roof surface is extensively vegetated - the remaining area can be used for photovoltaic systems.
According to the result of an urban design competition, plot no. 7 shall be developed as a closed block consisting of six segments with different heights and sizes. Apart from the enclosed living courtyard, the western part of the frame will have a common yard with the commercially used buildings in plot no. 8. To be in line with the Berlin-Block inspired scheme given by the competition, one house is defined as individual but characterised as part of a whole. Houses have their own addresses and articulate individual but similar façades towards the public space. Different colours of brickwork and different lengths of balconies support the principle of homogenous variety.
The ground floor is lifted by 1,35 m over street level, which allows for better privacy conditions in the ground floor apartments and higher ceilings for the retail spaces. A half-meter step separates the private terraces from the commonly used green courtyard. The upper apartments have big loggias oriented towards the block’s outside. Two thirds of the apartments are both-side oriented with their bedrooms facing the inner yard.
The buildings will be realised as a double-wall brickwork construction with façades made of exposed masonry. Offsetting every second lane of bricks strengthens the texture in the podium zone. Wide concrete cornices provide the horizontal structure and serve as French balconies for the upper flats. This traditional theme of roadside ornate balconies is furthermore expressed through the use of delicate steel railings as a reminiscense of historic wrought-iron banisters. The courtyard facades are smoothly plastered and, referring to the outside facades, windows of one flat are put into groups through slight changes in colour. Summer heat protection is provided constructively by the surrounding balconies/cornices and furthermore through the use of solar-control glass and external blinds. High quality brickwork sustains long time and thus keeps the building’s maintenance costs low. The use of closed panels within the wide openings helps reducing the glazed surface and hence avoiding heat losses. Residents can manually ventilate and heat their apartments. Sixty percent of the roof surface is extensively vegetated - the remaining area can be used for photovoltaic systems.
