A L B E R T O GEUNA

T HE C I T Y
IN
T HE C I T Y
B ERL I N AS A
MA G N E T I C
ARCH I P E L AGO

TUTORS
P A C R O S ET
A S A MP I E R I
J P V A S S AL
 THE CITY IN THE CITY
Berlin as a magnetic archipelago

Tesi di Laurea Magistrale

in Architettura, Costruzione, Città

Politecnico di Torino

A.A. 2013 / 2014

candidato: Alberto Geuna

relatore: Pierre Alain Croset

Professore ordinario di progettazione presso

il DAD - Dipartimento di Architettura e Design

Politecnico di Torino

co-relatore: Angelo Sampieri

Professore Aggregato a.a. 2014/2015

presso il DIST - Dipartimento Interateneo di

Scienze, Progetto e Politiche del Territorio

Politecnico di Torino

co-relatore esterno: Jean - Philippe Vassal

Professore presso Fachgebiet Entwerfen

und Stadterneuerung

UdK Berlin
 0 - Introduction 5

1 - Manifestos: the city in the city

Limits 14
Thesis 1 - Population 22
Thesis 2 - Aussenstadt wird Gegenstadt 24
Thesis 3 - Catalysts 30
Thesis 4 - Conurbations 34
Thesis 5 - Islands and magnets 44
Thesis 6 - Space for construction 48
Thesis 7 - Magnets and city 52
Thesis 8 - Block 64
Thesis 9 - Historic foundations 68
Thesis 10 - Synthesis 72
Thesis 11 - Open point 76

2 - Typological studies
R50 84
Ökohäuser 98
Askanischer Platz 116
Lützowplatz 122
Berliner Block 136
Mietskaserne 148

3 - No Stop Block
Building scale, block scale, infinite scale 154
Industriegebiet Hertzbergerstraße 176
Appendix: floor plan variations 198

4 - Bibliography 220

I ND E X 5 - Acknowledgements 228
 In 1977 O.M. Ungers and a number of his colleagues from Cornell University published

a pamphlet called “The City in the City: Berlin as a Green Archipelago”. This document

belongs to the larger context of the production of site-specific manifestos, such as Rem

Koolhaas’ Delirious New York and Scott Brown and Venturi’s Learning from Las Vegas.

Although never reaching the extensive attention of the previous examples, the City in the

City has been attracting the interests of many architects throughout the years.

This thesis takes its steps from this document. Not as historical inquiry, though, but rather

as a critical review based on the assumption that site specific manifestos in general - and

The City in the City in particular - could still constitute a significant tool to trace design

narratives today. The exercise here is that of rewriting the City in the City by keeping

its fundamental framework, scrolling through its eleven thesis in search of continuity, but

simultaneously putting in discussion its ideological background and all those assumptions

and theories that don’t seem to be valuable anymore.

As The City in the City triggered both the metropolitan and the architectural scale, so

does this thesis. While the first part is a discussion of the manifesto itself and delineates

a scenario for Berlin, the second part of the work focuses on the architectural scale and

it constitutes of a research on the typological level. If in 1977 Ungers proposed the urban

villa as a possible “architectural tool”, so the objective of this research is to find an urban

typology that could be appropriate to the requirements of the contemporary city and that,

in this case, is based on the density and complexity of the Berlin Block.

This work is an experiment in terms of procedure and an exploration of the logic behind

a project. It begins with the assumption that some documents within the discipline could

still be source of teaching and an active instrument to change the ways in which we look

at the practice of architecture. This doesn’t mean transforming these tools into venerable

relics and segregate them in the autonomous world of architecture, though, but it rather

means forcing them to face reality, testing their potential on the contemporary city, on

contemporary society, on the contemporary way of living.

I NT R O D U C T I O N
9
I have my own crazy definition of art, for
what is worth. Here’s the definition: set
up a series of arbitrary rules and then
follow them slavishly.

Errol Morris

MAN I F E S TOS
11
19 77 2014
O M UNGER S

TH E C I T Y B ERL I N AS A
IN MA G N E T I C
TH E C I T Y ARCH I P E L AGO

12 13
 Limits

While Ungers could recognize West Berlin as the portion of territory surrounded
by the Wall, today we ought to define the extent of the field as a premise to the
manifesto. Since the reunification the frontiers of Berlin have become blurry:
the city stretches into Brandenburg with train lines and housing estates and it
integrates rural villages and agricultural fields inside its administrative frontiers.

Explanation
The boundaries of Berlin shall be defined by material factors rather than abstract
concepts. We’ll assume that the extension of the city is a question of population
density and access to mobility. Considering the density pattern Berlin is a dense
dot surrounded by scarcely inhabited land. It includes neighboring towns like
Potsdam, Bernau, Strausberg, Königs–Wüsterhausen which should be included
in the metropolitan scheme. On the other hand, following the mobility pattern,
Berlin is a regional commuting system stretching along railways and highways,
including Dessau-Rosslau and Cottbus among other relevant settlements in a
range of about 150 kilometers.

Conclusion
For the sake of this project we shall ignore the administrative frontiers and think
in terms of limits. “ A limit designates an extremity, the confines of a territory: the
limits of a field. It is viewed from the inside and it does not take in account what
lies beyond: whatever is outside the limits, off the field. ” 1 In our case Berlin is
the field. Mobility and density define its limits.

(1) Emmanuel Hocquard, Lydia Davis, Marlboro (USA), Aerea in the Forests of Manhattan, Marlboro
Press, 1992.

14 15
16 17
commuters around Berlin (BBR 2009) regional railways around Berlin (BBR 2009)

200 - 500 Berlin Railway Ring

500 - 1000 DB Regio
1000 - 2000
2000 +

Templin
Schwedt - Oder

Neuruppin

Rathenow

Brandenburg Frankfurt -
Oder

Magdeburg

Dessau - Rosslau Cottbus

Halle

Leipzig

Dresden

18 19
 Angermünde
13.000 inh

Eberswalde
Oranienburg 39.000 inh
41.000 inh

Bernau bei Berlin

32.000 inh

Nauen
16.000 inh

Strausberg Kostrzyn nad Odra

25.000 inh 18.000 inh

Potsdam
160.000 inh BERLIN
3.375.000 inh

Fürstenwalde Spree
31.000 inh

Beelitz
10.000 inh Königs - Wusterhausen
34.000 inh

Frankfurt (Oder)
60.000 inh

20 Ludwigsfelde Beeskow 21
24.000 inh 8.000 inh
Thesis 1 Population

Current evaluations predict that Berlin, by the 1980s, will have lost more than 10 Current evaluations predict that Berlin’s population will increase between 5 and 10
percent of its population, dropping from 2 to 1.7 million inhabitants. percent by 2030, gaining from 100 000 to 300 000 new inhabitants. 2

Explanation Explanation
If we start from the assumption that these estimates are fairly exact, then we If we start from the assumption that these estimates are fairly exact, then we
must be borne in mind that the real igures may exceed the estimated reduction, must be borne in mind that the real figures might exceed the estimated growth,
because once the decrease is in progress, it ends up by causing a bigger efect. because once the positive trend is in progress it might end up causing a bigger
A certain percentage of anxiety-prone inhabitants will be caught up in the end effect. As Europe continues to be embedded in a critical state of recession and/or
by an exodus psychosis, with the result that the population will slip below the stagnation, more and more people might be drawn to seek fortune in Berlin, with
estimated igure. the result that the population will slip above the estimated figure.
Experience, however, has shown that this igure will subsequently tend to swing Experience, however, has shown that this figure might also be contradicted by
back to somewhat higher level, assuming that quality of life improves and the facts, assuming that our premises don’t trigger some vital factors that we currently
city becomes a more congenial place to live after a reorganization of the urban ignore. A recent example of such a failure is the growth expectations for Berlin after
environment. Without a radically improved ofer no one will want to remain in a the fall of the Wall, in the 1990s, when the city was expected to boom dramatically
bankrupt city of his own accord or, still less, go back there. in terms of economy and population but ended up receding for the whole decade.

Conclusion Conclusion
Any future planning for Berlin must therefore come to grips with the problem of Any future planning for Berlin must therefore come to grips with the problem of
a city that has shrunk. Since the total surface of Berlin is ixed and political reality a city that is growing and therefore needs new housing facilities. Since Berlin’s
is such that it can be neither reduced nor increased, future strategies must be expansion is centered around the inner city and often ends up privatizing public
devised that will allow for a controlled decrease in the population density, without soil, future strategies must be devised that will allow for an increase in population
jeopardizing the general quality of the urban environment. density without jeopardizing the general quality of the urban environment.

22 23
Thesis 2 Aussenstadt wird Gegenstadt

The opinion that prevails today, whereby the historic parts of the city can be The IBA 2020 has been canceled due to economical reasons, but the concept
preserved and saved only through additional and supplementary construction “Aussenstadt wird Innenstadt” remains the most recent strategic vision for the city
stems from erroneous assumptions and is therefore illusory. of Berlin and its implications must be discussed.

Explanation Explanation
Two urban design tendencies must be avoided on the theoretical and operative Some urban design tendencies must be avoided on the theoretical and operative
plane, due to their illusory character. One starts from the assumption that the plane, due to their detrimental character. One starts from the assumption that
city can be repaired to its former historic substance and coniguration. Programs the inner city is the sole model for urban qualities and should be expanded into
of this kind are, at best, the result of a misunderstood wave of nostalgia. As the outer city. A program of this kind is, at best, the result of a failure to observe
statistical forecasts seem to indicate, future demand will simply not be large reality in its complexity, ignoring the advantages that might be inherently present
enough to sustain them. The reduction process, however, cannot be left to chance. in the outer city. The housing demand, however, cannot be faced without a clear
The hazardous development that would inevitably ensue not only spells chaos but strategy. The hazardous development that would inevitably ensue would ultimately
would ultimately have disastrous consequences for the city. have disastrous consequences for the city, as it nearly happened in the case of
the Tempelhofer Feld’s construction plan.
The realization of the idea of “urban repair”, which, if wrongly interpreted, may The realization of the idea of “spreading the inner city”, which, if wrongly interpreted,
paradoxically lead, in practice, to the destruction of the city, implies an inevitable may paradoxically lead, in practice, to the destruction of urban quality, implies an
thrust toward an increase in buildings, homes, shops, social services, and so on. inevitable thrust towards homogenization and a transmigration of problems from
The postulate of urban repair denies an established fact, namely, that most areas the inner to the outer city. The postulate of this idea denies an established fact,
have by now ended in ruins precisely because, in almost all cases and especially in namely, that most outer city areas have access to qualities that are not available in
Berlin, the necessity to increase their density does not exist anymore. In efect, the inner city. In effect, recommendations of this kind lead to a general confusion of
recommendations of this kind lead to a general confusion of real necessities and to real necessities and to a consequent outburst of unnecessary projects produced
a consequent outburst of kitsch produced in the name of goodwill and good taste, in the name of goodwill and good taste, because the supposed necessity is just
because the supposed necessity is just as contrived as its ensuing results. as contrived as its ensuing results.

Conclusion Conclusion

In Berlin, the theory of urban repair, in the sense of a historic reconstruction, In Berlin, this narrow view of urbanity would be particularly detrimental, since

would be particularly detrimental, since the inexorable depopulation process existing features would remain untraced and unknown to the consequent

would only be camoulaged and all action taken to improve reality would be disadvantage of the city. Still, this observation should not clash with the necessity

pointlessly deferred, to the consequent disadvantage of the city. of increasing density in certain areas, but rather lead us to reconsider urbanity in
search for different ways.

24 25
AUSSENSTADT
WIRD
INNENSTADT

26 27
INNENSTADT
WIRD
AUSSENSTADT

28 29
Thesis 3 Catalysts

In Frankfurt, a number of Social Democratic local politicians met recently Since many years Berlin has been identified with a vibrant urban sphere which
to discuss the problem of the population drop in big cities and to draw up the is propelled by the spontaneous flourishing of many temporary interventions
necessary countermeasures. In the majority of big German cities, the tendency is throughout the city, either in the form of recreational or economical activities
regressive. As in America, here, too, the migration to the periphery is mounting. (clubs and bars, community gardens, start-up companies and informal markets),
The consequences of this constant exodus is a general impoverishment and, in a or proper alternative ways of urban living (squatting, community dwelling).
broader perspective, a spatial decay of the city center. The depopulation process These phenomena normally bloom in urban wastelands and vacant structures,
in some major cities, such as Cologne, Frankfurt, and Berlin, which have a high almost casually throughout the city, forming a colorful layer on the contemporary
percentage of foreign labor, is already in progress. metropolis.

Explanation Explanation
Clearly, however, this light from the city also results from a changed way of Although being a wide spectrum of agencies, the common ground of all these
life. As shown by a recent survey by the Demoscopic Beureau of Allensbach, temporary uses is to be “catalysts” 4, places where subcultures can gather,
big cities are steadily losing their residential value. The survey shows that 74 connect, share values and rules that diverge from the mainstream. These
percent of the population prefer an apartment in the country to an apartment phenomenons have been traditionally referred to as anti-urban because they
in the city. Country life seems to ofer more attractions. The automobile and propose a subversive idea of public space and public morals. Nevertheless,
television play an important role in this respect. For a long time now, moving being fragmented and involving a relatively marginal amount of people, they have
to the country does not anymore mean leeing society. With improvements in never been able to present a comprehensive alternative to urbanity, and have
means of communication, both spatial and psychological distances have been thus always confronted the city in a parasitic way, as an enrichment of the urban
considerably reduced. This process of depopulation does not apply only to Berlin environment rather than a counterweight to it. These activities are continuously
either. Most of the major cities of the world, with very few exceptions, have been endangered by the rising cost of space in Berlin. Many of them are forced to close
hit by the same phenomenon. Since 1970, the population drop in New York City or relocate in different areas, while others decide to give up some core values in
has reached 650 000 inhabitants, and this trend seems likely to continue. In some order to adapt to the situation and survive. Most of them have shown their fragility
parts of the city, more than 70 percent of the inhabitants have left, with the result against the market, being forced to recede in front of investors, plot owners and
that entire districts have virtually been wiped of the map. In their place, the city other authorities. The “catalysts” are normally substantiated by soft, transitory
administration now plans to install agricultural concerns, or “urban farms”. At construction that rarely leaves material traces after they are forced to move, and
present, more than 1 000 are scheduled in a once highly populated district in thus creates practically no physical memory of them. They mostly cease to exist
Brooklyn. as soon as they become inactive.

(4) Philipp Oswalt, Klaus Overmeyer, Philipp Misselwitz, Urban Catalyst. The power of temporary
use, Berlin (DE), DOM, 2013.

30 31
Conclusion Conclusion
Since, as the examples mentioned show, this process of shrinkage is not a local Since the actual situation is a dynamic process of continuous redefinition, the
phenomenon but rather a sign of a much more general tendency, the future task future task will be no longer that of protecting and enhancing these phenomenons
will no longer be to plan the growth of cities but rather to develop new proposals as they are, but rather drive them to concentrate into clusters with higher resilience
and concepts for dealing with this exodus by protecting the better aspects of cities. and permanence. This shift in scale would transform the catalysts into larger
Faced with this assignment, urban planners today are unprepared and certainly laboratories for the development of a different urbanity, a way to develop new
incapable of solving the problem with the means that have been employed hitherto. proposals for the future of the city. As the availability of cheap or no-cost space is
Berlin, which has such radical idiosyncratic features, is particularly well suited to the fundamental condition for the existence of catalysts, more space ought to be
act as a laboratory of this set of problems. strategically realized in order to support the migration of existing agencies and the
hosting of new ones.

32 33
Thesis 4 Conurbations

Large cities are characterized by an overlapping of many mutually exclusive and Large cities are characterized by an overlapping of many mutually exclusive and
divergent conceptions. This is what diferentiates them from villages, housing divergent conceptions. This is what differentiates them from villages, housing
developments, urban districts, and small or medium-sized towns. Here, the chief developments, urban districts and small or medium-sized towns. Here, the chief
characteristic is expressed in the predominance of a single basic principle or, if characteristic is expressed in the predominance of a single basic principle or, if
more than one exists, complementary principles. The ideal would be to ind an more than one exists, complementary principles. The ideal would be to find an
urban coniguration in which both unity and an atmosphere of clarity exist. urban configuration in which both unity and diversity exist.

Explanation Explanation
A structure loses its functional capacity in the measure in which its monolithic A recent study by physicist Luis Bettencourt has collected an unprecedented
character increases, be it in the economy, politics, nature, or the urban number of numerical data on different cities throughout the world, such as the
environment. When, for example, General Motors became too big and average income of inhabitants or the number of patents per capita, and confronted
ungovernable, the management decided to a transformation of the production them with density and population. The results showed that in all cases these
facilities into reasonably-sized units. When Europe’s largest industrial complex, factors scale with the size of the city and its density 5, mathematically proving
the British National Coal Board, reached a no longer functional dimension, the the efficiency of dense, large cities. Yet, it is also true that a structure loses its
monolith was divided into a group of semi-independent units, each with diferent functional capacity in the measure in which its monolithic character increases,
tasks and motivations. The situation is no diferent in the city. Although it is be it in the economy, politics, nature, or the urban environment. An answer to this
difcult to establish what constitutes a reasonable size for a city, it is clear that a ฀ question on the greater urban scale is represented by conurbations, federations
convenient size is somewhere around 250 000 inhabitants, Zürich, Florence, Trier, of towns that come together to share resources and gain relevance, forming a
or Freiburg are places in which the human atmosphere outweighs the hustle and network that is not longer possible to define as a city, but rather as an extensive
bustle of the big city. These examples show that an increase in size does not mean inhabited territory. Existing examples of European conurbations are the Silesian
an improvement in the quality of life. In Tokyo, New York, or London, the millions Metropolis, the Eurométropole Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai and the Ruhrgebiet. In recent
of inhabitants do not raise the efective value of these cities, but create instead European History they can be considered as a counterweight to the traditional
enormous technical and organizational problems, and end up ruining the human model of radial cities embodied by such examples as Paris, London or Moscow.
environment. Today, we sufer from a sense of universal respect for giantism, The History of Berlin is much more that of a number of settlements coming together
perhaps because we think that what is bigger must be better. Reality has instead than that of a single center expanding outbound, yet its density is much higher
shown that reduction and diminution also make for better quality, and does not than any of the previously mentioned examples of conurbation. We propose to
least the quality of life itself. For this reason, small and legible units ought to be consider Berlin as a middle case between the radial city and the conurbation, an
created. This applies to production, the way of life, and any other component of intensive metropolis in which high density coexists with a multiplicity of centers.
our environment. (5) Bettencourt, The Origins of scaling in cities, Science 21, 1438–1441 (June 2013)

34 35
Conclusion Conclusion
These considerations suggest that, within the context of a selective program for the These considerations suggest that, within the context of a densification program,
reduction of urban overpopulation, or even a partial demolition of those districts the increase of the population in Berlin might provide an opportunity to reaffirm
that are superluous and work badly, the reduction of the population in Berlin the multi-centric configuration of the metropolis through the creation of densely
might provide an outstanding opportunity to redevelop zones that are no longer inhabited settlements. These should not be created anew, but rather be paired
satisfactory on the technical, social and structural levels. Simultaneously, those with existing urban areas that would work synergically with the new insertion,
zones that deserve to be preserved should be identiied, and their characteristics receiving additional services in exchange for basic urban infrastructure.
be either underlined or, if incomplete, completed. These enclaves liberated from
the anonymity of the city would in their quality of quasi islands form a green
urban archipelago in a natural lagoon.

36 37
Eurométropole Lille - Kortrijk - Tournai - pop. 2 155 161 (2008) - London - pop. 8 308 369 (2012) - surface 3 533 km2 - density 5 285 inh/km2
surface 3 533 km2 - density 610 inh/km2

Silesian Metropolis - Katowice - pop. 2 039 454 (2008) - surface 1 218 km2 - Paris - pop. 10 516 110 (2011) - surface 3 533 km2 - density 3 696 inh/km2
density 1 700 inh/km2

Ruhrgebiet - pop. 5 135 136 (2011) - surface 4 435 km2 - density 1 646 inh/ Moscow - pop. 11 979 200 (2013) - surface 2 511 km2 - density 4 771 inh/km2
km2

38 39
BER L I N
pop. 3 421 829 (2014)
surface 892 km2
density 3 837 inh/km2

40 41
EUROMETROPOLE Tielt SILESIAN 10 km
LILLE - KORTRIJK - TOURNAI METROPOLIS
(FR + BE) (PL)
Roselare
pop pop
6.600.000 1.520.000
Waregem Bytom

Zabrze Chorzow Dabrowa

Gornicza
Gliwice
Sosnowiec
Kortrijk
Ruda Katowice
Slaska

Mouscron Mikolow
Tourcoing
Tychy
Armentieres Roublaix

Ascq
Lille
Tournai Oranienburg
Santes Wattignies
RUHRGEBIET Seclin BERLIN - Henningsdorf
(DE) POTSDAM
(DE) Bernau bei
Berlin
pop pop
5.200.000 3.700.000
Dortmund Strausberg
Bottrop Herne Reinickendorf Pankow
Oberhausen Mitte Lichtenberg
Bochum Marzahn - Hellersdorf
Spandau
Essen Kreuzberg - Friedrichshain
Duisburg Neukölln
Schöneberg Treptow -
Hagen Steglitz Köpenick

Potsdam

Wuppertal
Düsseldorf
Königs -
Mönchengladbach Wusterhausen

42 43
Thesis 5 Islands and magnets

The idea of the city in the city is the basic concept for a future urbanistic model The idea of the city in the city is the basic concept for an urban model of Berlin,
of Berlin. It is substantiated in the image of Berlin as a city-archipelago. The but it is not substantiated in the image of Berlin as a city-archipelago. In the
urban islands have an identity in keeping with their history, social structure, and current situation the so called “islands” ought not to be a formal selection of the
environmental characteristics. The city as a whole is formed by the federation urban and architectural environment, but rather the recognition of a high degree of
of all these urban entities with diferent structures, developed in a deliberately human agency in certain parts of the city. Rather than islands as closed enclaves,
antithetic manner. A decisive criterion for the selection of these islands ought to these areas work as magnets, the basic principle not being exclusion, but rather
be the degree of clarity and legibility of their underlying ideas and concepts. creating attractors.

Explanation Explanation
The irst step to be taken ought to be to identify and select those districts of the Since the 1970s the primary goal of planning has been the stimulation of private
city that possess clearly identiiable features likely to justify their preservation investments. “In terms of land management, this concept manifested itself in a kind
and accentuation. These so-called ‘identity spaces’ should not be chosen on the of island urbanism: sites that are relevant for investments are planned as projects,
basis of a particular taste or aesthetic conceptions. The second step toward a while territory in between disappears from the public consciousness. Yet it is
redevelopment is the completion of the fragments to be preserved that, in the precisely those areas neglected by the state, capital and planning that often stand
course of this process, would receive their deinitive architectural and urbanistic out for their special urbanity. Because here, the city is designed and influenced
form. This task requires the development of a whole unemotional kind. In quarters by financially unsound players who are excluded from the projects supported by
with a high building density, the existing bulk of building ought to be diminished corporate urban policy 6 ”. Once these magnets have been identified, the second
through the creation of free spaces, such as the city parks, public gardens, and step toward development consists in analyzing these areas in order to find ways
squares, while districts with a low density, such as Westend, could be intensiied to densify them, process which includes selecting spaces that are partially or
by the integration of social condensers. The architectural planning intentions for totally available for construction and that, in the course of this process, would be
the future consist solely in enucleating the true coniguration of each urban island transformed into heavily constructed areas containing large amounts of available
on the basis of which it was irst chosen. It is essentially a matter of establishing, space. As a general guideline areas within the Ringbahn ought not be considered
in a way, the ‘physiognomy’ of the part of the city in question, and leaving one’s for this program. The central districts of Berlin are already densely inhabited and
stamp on to it to such an extent that it inds a proper expression. Each part of the the unbuilt areas host high levels of human activity. The “dog’s head” has been
city taken in itself will thus receive an identity of its own that will fundamentally object of excessive emphasis for many years and must be counterbalanced by
diferentiate it from the others. a renewed interest for the rest of the city. In fact, the outer city already hosts the
majority of Berlin’s population and an efficient public transport network, as well as
large amounts of available space and emerging social practices.
(6) Oswalt, Overmeyer, Misselwitz, Urban Catalysts (Berlin 2013)

44 45
More speciically, therefore, the Märkische Viertel, Westend, Kreuzberg and The architectural planning intentions for the future consist thus in identifying the
Lichterfelde are necessarily included as components of the concept and should embryonic activities in this area and intensifying them, in order to propose an
be regarded as complementary elements with diferent characteristics having the alternative to the central districts.
capacity to raise the supply and hence the freedom of choice.

Conclusion Conclusion
The urban concept of the city in the city, pluralistic in this respect, is the The urban concept of the city in the city, pluralistic in this respect, is the antithesis
antithesis of current planning theory, which stems from a deinition of the city of current planning theory, which stems from a definition of the city as a single
as a single whole. It corresponds to the contemporary structure of society, which whole. It corresponds to the contemporary structure of society, which develops
develops more and more as a society of individuals with diferent demands, desires more and more as a society of individuals with different demands, desires and
and conceptions. The concept also involves an individualization of the city, the conceptions. The concept also involves an individualization of the city, the issue
issue of citizens identifying with the city is also addressed. While an anonymous of citizens identifying with the city is also addressed. While an anonymous city
city composed along a unifying principle provokes a loss of identity and a loss of composed along a unifying principle provokes a loss of identity and a loss of
personality, the city dweller in an open system may choose the identity-space that personality, the city dweller in an open system may choose the identity-space that
corresponds to his desires and expectations. corresponds to his desires and expectations.

46 47
Thesis 6 Space for construction

The phase of selection of the so-called urban islands is as much a question of The phase of selection of the construction areas is as much a question of
programmatic identiication and description as it is a formal and urbanistic programmatic identification and description as it is a formal and urban procedure.
procedure. Not all new integrations have to be planned afresh. Through analogy The basic principle driving the selection is that of enhancing the presence of life
and comparisons with models it is possible to gain design insights that can be and human agency rather than limiting it or interrupting it.
transpoosed in a typological sense.
Explanation
Explanation Construction is a traumatic act that implies replacement of matter and disruption
Upon preliminary analytical examination, a number of zones in the city stand out of connections. If non carefully planned it could bring to the interruption or
clearly, set apart from the others by their quality and collective distinctiveness. Areas annihilation of human agency with a subsequent detrimental effect for the city.
of the city that are exemplary through their closed structure include the Südliche The selection of construction spaces is thus the most delicate part of the program.
Friedrichstadt, the Görlitz station, the Schlossstrasse, Siemensstadt, Spandau, In order to define the space available for construction it is also necessary to
and the area known as “the city”, but also Märkische Viertel, the Gropiusstadt, define an agenda in order to classify which elements need to be protected in the
and such typical housing developments (Siedlungen) as the Tempelhofer Feld, the first place and which could be replaced.
Hufeisensiedlung, Onkel Tom’s Hütte, but also the cultural island of Kemperplatz,
which ofers a replica of the historic Museuminslel. The zones just mentioned 1 - Rooted human agency ought to be identified, the spaces in which it takes
represent extremely diferent structures in context and form; they contain not place ought to be protected as valuable.
only buildings in blocks but also single, radial, linear, and reticular urban layouts,
open and closed systems, regular and irregular street networks, while also having 2 – Public access ought to be protected as a part of the urban richness. Accessibility
diferent graphic, spatial, functional, and social characteristics. ought to be restricted as little as possible and be rather promoted.

3 – Trees require a time to grow and they are generally a synonym for environmental
quality. Cutting down trees requires a noteworthy effort and it removes qualitative
elements from the area for a long time.

4 - Buildings and infrastructures ought to be valued for their factual or potential

use. Demolitions, extensions and refurbishments are expensive hard procedures
and must be considered in this perspective.

48 49
Conclusion Conclusion
To establish the characteristics of the city, one could take into consideration a To establish where to build is thus necessary to run a research on the field. Urban
number of typical cases that were designed at other times for other situations exploration oughts to become the central method to build a practical knowledge
and may have comparable typological features. For example, the ideal project of the city that would eventually lead to a conscious construction. “Cities are more
for Karlsruhe, with its radial axis, might serve as an example for a coniguration productive, more democratic, more sustainable, and more secure when we are
of the Südliche Friedrichstadt, or the project for Manhattan’s Central Park be collectively aware of and understand the infrastructure that serves us, whether in
transferred just as it is into the Görlitz station zone. The urban planning structure our buildings, our streets, or under our feet 7 ”.
of the Schlossstrasse is identical to the baroque structure of Mannheim. Leonidov’s
linear design for Magnitogorsk is similar from a typological point of view to the
built structure along the avenue Unter den Eichen.

7 - Bradley L. Garrett – Shallow excavation, a response to Bunkerology (2011)

50 51
Thesis 7 Magnets and city

The concept of the city in the city, which proceeds from a collage of a diferent The concept of the city in the city, which proceeds from a collage of different urban
urban entities, will be completed antithetically by the space in between the urban entities, is juxtaposed to the rest of the urban territory. This manifesto promotes a
islands. Here the structures, by now valueless, ought to be allowed to gradually re- secession of certain areas from the current type of urban planning to a different
transform into natural zones and pastures, without any rebuilding. This concerns regime, but it doesn’t have the presumption of proposing a unidirectional strategy
in particular the areas of Kemperplatz, the stations of Görlitz and Potsdam, and, at for the whole city. Rather, by promoting a shift in scale of catalysts and other
a later stage, the Tempelhofer airport. Hence, the urban islands would be divided bottom up activities, this project also brings their parasitic strategy to another level.
from each other by strips of nature and green, thus deining the framework of the Magnets are vitally connected to existing urban, social and economical structures.
city as a green archipelago.

Explanation Explanation
The green inter spaces form a system of modiied nature, and contain a repertoire Today the metropolis cannot be planned as a whole. Public resources are generally
of types that range from suburban zones to parks and woodland to urban areas put too poor to promote significant change, private resources push urban development
to agricultural use (allotment gardens). Suburbs could be of diferent densities, in market-driven directions and a general crisis of political representation deepens
and integrate existing districts. The surfaces earmarked for agriculture could the gap between citizens and politics. The city is a sick Leviathan, its social,
penetrate all parts of the city and at the same time create an additional source of economical and formal foundations have become unclear and the general feeling
industry and employment, as is already planned in New York. As for the wooded is that of an afterglow rather than a projection toward the future. A viable strategy
areas designated as natural reserve, they could be completed and stimulated by wild- on a large scale seems to be that of promoting a gathering of the most creative
parks, and encourage a form of inner tourism. The polarity between nature and and active agents of the city into spatially autonomous think tanks that we will
culture, or nature and metropolis, which has been generally lost or compromised call magnets. The connection between humans and the city, which has been
today, would be given a new impulse by this concept. Since this nature-culture generally blurred or disrupted today, would be given a new impulse by this concept.
system would have to be fundamentally designed - as a purely synthetic nature Since these alternatives will be developed inside the urban fabric, their strong
- its strong contrast would intensify rather than diminish the experience of the contrast would intensify rather than diminish the experience of the metropolis.
metropolis. The natural grid ought also to incorporate the infrastructure of the In the same way in which the carcass of a whale is capable of feeding an whole
modern technological age, that is to say, beyond an extended motorway network ecosystem of sentient creatures, the city would feed the so called magnets with
linking the urban islands to one another, it ought also to include supermarkets, urban infrastructure such as public transportation, electricity, sanitation, roads,
drive-in cinemas, drive-in banks, and similar automobile-related services, as well instruction facilities, job opportunities, as well as all the other aspects in which the
as all the other 20th century typologies that rely not on space but on mobility. magnets would present a limited autonomy.

52 53
Next to the suburban zones with diferent densities, the wooded areas, shooting In exchange the magnets will embody new urban centers that will bring urbanity
preserves, natural parks, allotment gardens, land for urban agriculture, and the to suburban zones of different densities that would otherwise be remote and
infrastructural services of the modern age, the greenbelts should also be used excluded. Access to cinemas, theaters, galleries, entertainment such as clubs
to ‘park’ temporarily mobile facilities. This would encourage the emergence and bars, project spaces, common gardens, alternative schooling facilities, flea-
of a new type of city dwellers whose main interest is the employment of leisure markets and so on. The magnets should also be used to ‘park’ temporarily mobile
time and who show a predilection for living in tent-houses and mobile units: new facilities. This would encourage the migration of cultural institutions from the inner
inhabitants who do not remain attached to any ixed spot, but whose existence is city for limited amounts of time, allowing an augmented access to cultural life.
indeed stimulated by a transitory way of life.

Conclusion Conclusion
In the open zones between the urban islands, projects of suburban quality, similar The magnets ought to establish a continuous dialogue with surrounding areas
to proposals already known, should be realized, such as: that would be substantiated in fluxes of people, energy and materials.

- the building of low-density detached individual housing, in accordance with

Hilberseimer’s recommendations for Chicago

- the building of complexes of temporary residential areas of mobile homes as an

alternative to the city-center living, which would stimulate living in the open and
a way of life oriented toward leisure time

- the building of sports, rest, and recreational facilities, beginning with park and
play areas and extending to shooting preserves and artiicial landscapes, and to
amusement zones of the Disneyland type and National Parks for the friends of
nature

- the setting aside of production in the “industrial park” - style of American cities,
with leisure time, play and sport facilities for the workers.

54 55
CONNECTIVITY
railroads, S-Bahn, U-Bahn,
trams, highways, major roads
DENSITY
floor area ratio pattern
MAGNETS
Thesis 8 Block

Residential building in general has hitherto been linked to two types of buildings: In the “City in the City” Ungers proposed the urban villa as crossover of detached
the detached dwelling and the apartment block. Leaving aside the transformation dwelling and apartment block, or rather as a building that could merge the qual-
of the detached home into rows of houses, we are left essentially with these two ities of urban and suburban dwelling. To an ever-increasing extent this typology
types. To an ever-increasing extent, the apartment block is seen as a renunciation has become a standard in Berlin’s architecture in the form of co-housing units
of the detached dwelling. Various studies have shown that nearly 70 percent of the and townhouses. Although the urban villa has been proven - at times - to be
population prefer a detached home to one in a block. remarkable for its flexibility and convenience, in the contemporary scenario it is
necessary to think of an upgrade in scale that could turn it into a denser typology.

Explanation Explanation
In the last few years, the tendency toward detached homes has risen in step While buildings are filling the voids of Berlin’s inner city and immigration is rising,
with increased aluence, even if this potentially meant accepting considerable the enhancement of density has become a priority. It is not exclusively a problem
inconvenience, such as higher costs, long commutes, and disruption in supplies. of producing residential units, but rather mixed types that could also include other
At the same time, moreover, valuable recreational areas, particularly on the functions that require different sorts of accessibility and larger spaces, such as
outskirts of the city, have been colonized by detached houses, thus permanently supermarkets, offices, sport facilities, clubs, gardens, theaters, cinemas and so
stripping the local community of a further beneit. The actual reason behind this on. In order to develop these schemes we’ll consider Ungers’ urban villa as a
trend toward owning a house is determined less by economic considerations and component of a larger urban pattern, in the same way in which the Mietskaserne
much more by the desire for independence and the need to freely develop one’s is a part of the Berliner Block. In other words, the objective is not that of presenting
personality; in other words, by increasing individualization and improvement in an alternative on the small scale, but rather develop a flexible pattern in which
the quality of life. Apartment blocks cannot fulill this wish because they impose future urban villas could fit, and that would also include larger spaces for more
certain obligations upon those who live in them and restrict their living space. extensive functions.
And so it is no coincidence that the building of apartment blocks is continually We’ll take the Berliner Block as a reference, being one of the distinctive features of
diminishing to the advantage of detached homes. The question, therefore, is the city and one of the densest urban typologies in Europe. The Berliner Block is
whether, between two extreme types of dwelling, there exists a form of housing outstanding in terms of functional integration: it contains apartments, shops, offices
that ofers the advantages of the detached home while avoiding the disadvantages and small industries. In fact, since its very beginning, the strength of the Berliner
of the apartment block. The answer is that the type of home that evidently fulills Block has been residing in its size and flexibility. This could be enhanced further
this function is the old rented villa. It is a type of house containing four to eight today. We dare to imagine the Berliner Block as a continuous Dom-ino system, as
apartments of diferent ground plans. On account of its relatively limited volume an accumulation of Frei Otto’s Ökohäuser, as a sum of complementary cohousing
and resulting adaptability to the particular wishes of its occupants, this type of communities. We picture an urban system that integrates parks, shopping malls,
house allows for individualized design. In its outward appearance, it resembles the apartments and workshops, a scheme whose spatial configuration is so generous

64 65
in-de-siècle type of villa, and comes closer than any other known form of hous- that it allows subcultures to colonize its spaces and turn them into galleries,
ing to fulilling the desire for individualization. Furthermore, it ofers essential cinemas, clubs, bars and so on. We picture a block that could embody and
advantages in terms of urban planning, since it has a character that creates an represent the current situation in the same way in which the previous one did for
urban atmosphere, as it can be seen in the residential areas built at the turn of the XIX century Berlin.
century.

Conclusion Conclusion
In the housebuilding sector, the construction of town houses as rented villas ought In the building sector, the construction of town houses and other low-density
to be encouraged much more than it has been so far. The transformation of his- typologies ought to be stopped and replaced by high density developments. The
toric villas to meet the reduced requirements of today has demonstrated that this analysis of the historic block has demonstrated that this type of scheme is suitable
type of home is suitable not only for residential purposes but also lends itself to not only for residential purpose but also lends itself to other functions.
other functions. In an ideal way, it satisies the desire of those who wish to per- In an ideal way, it satisfies the desire of those who wish to personalize their
sonalize their environment, while also accommodating public interest not at least environment, while also accommodating public interest not at least with regard
with regard to infrastructures and social density. Villa-type houses with a limited to infrastructures and social density. The blocks could fit fairly easily on the large
number of individually designed apartments it fairly easily into a historic urban non-built-up areas of the outer city, and could be superimposed to infrastructural
fabric. While the building of big housing blocks in each case results in a redevel- space such as railways or parking lots.
opment of the urban fabric, with all the ensuing social, economic, and planning
disadvantages, with urban villas all this is avoided because they are more an inte-
grative than a substitutive urbanistic element.

66 67
Thesis 9 Historic foundations

The history of Berlin shows the development of a city from many diferent places. The history of Berlin shows the development of a city from many different places.
The diference and variety that manifest themselves in its historic quarters are The difference and variety that manifest themselves in its historic quarters are
what constitute Berlin’s identity and urbanistic quality. It is a city in which op- what constitute Berlin’s identity and urban quality. It is a city in which opposite ele-
posite elements have always found clear expression, and where attempts of stan- ments have always found clear expression, and where attempts of standardization
dardization under the aegis of a single principle have always failed. Berlin has under the aegis of a single principle have always failed. Berlin has never followed
never followed one idea alone, but proceeded simultaneously from diverging ideas. one idea alone, but proceeded simultaneously from diverging ideas. Theses and
Theses and antitheses respond here to one another like breathing in and breath- antitheses respond here to one another like breathing in and breathing out.
ing out.
Explanation
Explanation The history of Berlin is the history of the transformation of one type of city to one
The history of Berlin is the history of the transformation of one type of city to another. In the course of 700 years, Berlin has been several different cities. It
one another. In the course of 700 years, Berlin has been several diferent cities. It began by being two cities, Berlin and Kölln, the one for fishermen, the other for
began by being two cities, Berlin and Kölln, the one for ishermen, the other for traders. It soon became a market city, then a residential one, a capital and, in the
traders. It soon became a market city, then a residential one, a capital and, in the 19th century, an industrial city. As early as the 18th century, Berlin was formed by
19th century, an industrial city. As early as the 18th century, Berlin was formed by six different cities: Berlin, Kölln, Friedrichswerder, Dorotheenstadt, Friedrichstadt,
six diferent cities: Berlin, Kölln, Friedrichswerder, Dorotheenstadt, Friedrich- and the eastern suburb. These different urban entities each had their own ad-
stadt, and the eastern suburb. These diferent urban entities each had their own ministration, different planning structures, and independent functions. Berlin was
administration, diferent planning structures, and independent functions. Berlin the commercial town, Kölln the industrial town, Friedrichswerder the administra-
was the commercial town, Kölln the industrial town, Friedrichswerder the ad- tive and Dorotheenstadt the residential town, while Friedrichstadt was the military
ministrative and Dorotheenstadt the residential town, while Friedrichstadt was town and the eastern suburb the factory town. Together they formed a kind of
the military town and the eastern suburb the factory town. Together they formed federation of towns. At the end of the 19th century, greater Berlin was a network
a kind of federation of towns. At the end of the 19th century, greater Berlin was of towns, small and medium in size, stretching over a wide area. The invention
a network of towns, small and medium in size, stretching over a wide area. The of the automobile, the emergence of railroads, and industrial progress led to in-
invention of the automobile, the emergence of railroads, and industrial progress creased mobility among the population and prompted an increase in the number
led to increased mobility among the population and prompted an increase in the of homes and workplaces on the outskirts of the historic city center. These were
number of homes and workplaces on the outskirts of the historic city center. either completely new outposts, or additions to existing settlements. Districts such
These were either completely new outposts, or additions to existing settlements. as Spandau, Friedenau, Lichterfelde, Siemensstadt, and Charlottenburg are quite
Districts such as Spandau, Friedenau, Lichterfelde, Siemensstadt, and Charlot- different urban structures that visually clarify the model of the “city in the city”.
tenburg are quite diferent urban structures that visually clarify the model of the

68 69
“city in the city”. From a historic point of view, this model also transposes the proj- From a historic point of view, this model also transposes the project drawn up
ect drawn up by William IV for the Havellandschaft between Berlin and Potsdam. by William IV for the Havellandschaft between Berlin and Potsdam. Here, in the
Here, in the 19th century, a humanistic cultural landscape was composed with 19th century, a humanistic cultural landscape was composed with commemo-
commemorative monuments borrowed from diferent historic styles, in which the rative monuments borrowed from different historic styles, in which the romantic
romantic fragment of the Pfaueninsel castle, the Neo-classical Heilandskirche, fragment of the Pfaueninsel castle, the Neo-classical Heilandskirche, the country
the country church of Saints Peter and Paul, reminiscent of Islamic architecture, church of Saints Peter and Paul, reminiscent of Islamic architecture, the classicist
the classicist objects of Glienicke Park, the Neo-Gothic Babelsberg Palace, Per- objects of Glienicke Park, the Neo-Gothic Babelsberg Palace, Persius’s house
sius’s house for the court gardener and the machine house, conceived in the late for the court gardener and the machine house, conceived in the late Italian style,
Italian style, and inally the classicist monuments of Potsdam were all embed- and finally the classicist monuments of Potsdam were all embedded as special
ded as special palaces in themselves, thus forming an archipelago of architectonic palaces in themselves, thus forming an archipelago of architectonic phenomena.
phenomena. The coniguration of the Havel landscape holds the key to regarding The configuration of the Havel landscape holds the key to regarding Berlin as an
Berlin as an archipelago of many diferent sites and places. Beyond all practical archipelago of many different sites and places. Beyond all practical and rational
and rational reasons, the idea of Berlin as an archipelago is the expression of this reasons, the idea of Berlin as an archipelago is the expression of this humanistic
humanistic tradition transported to the present. tradition transported to the present.

Conclusion Conclusion
The superimposition of ideas, concepts, decisions, coincidences, and realities The superimposition of ideas, concepts, decisions, coincidences, and realities
across the arc of seven centuries has given the city its present form. The plan across the arc of seven centuries has given the city its present form. The plan
of the current situation is a book of events in which the traces of history have of the current situation is a book of events in which the traces of history have
remained clearly visible. It is not a uniied image but a living collage, a collection remained clearly visible. It is not a unified image but a living collage, a collection
of fragments. From a historical point of view, the simultaneous juxtaposition of of fragments. From a historical point of view, the simultaneous juxtaposition of
contrasting elements is the expression of the dialectic process in which has always contrasting elements is the expression of the dialectic process in which has al-
found itself and still does. The concept of critical antithesis and divergent multi- ways found itself and still does. The concept of critical antithesis and divergent
plicity is the very essence and unique character of Berlin. multiplicity is the very essence and unique character of Berlin.

70 71
Thesis 10 Synthesis

The inevitable drive toward reduction, the improvement of the urban quality, the The inevitable drive toward growth, the problem of the reduction of free space,
preservation of the historic substance, the individualization of architecture, the the preservation and concentration of social agency, the individualization of
humanization of living space in the city, and the improvement of the environment architecture, the humanization of living space in the city, and the improvement
are implied topics that will need to be discussed within the framework of the of the environment are implied topics that will need to be discussed within the
reconstruction of the city and for whose solutions new proposals must be developed. framework of the densification of the city and for whose solutions new proposals
must be developed.
Explanation
The issue in question is no longer the design of a completely new environment, Explanation
but rather the rebuilding of what already exists. The task at hand is not the The issue in question is the development of an alternative to that of current
invention of a new urban system, but the improvement of what is already there, design strategies. The task at hand is the invention of an urban system that could
not the discovery of a new order, but the rediscovery of proven principles, not the integrate what is already there. Not the discovery of a new order, though, but
construction of new cities, but the restructuring of the old ones - this is the real rather the rediscovery of proven principles in a new way, not the construction
problem for the future. What is needed is not a new Utopia, but rather a blueprint of new cities, but the improvement of the old ones - this is the real problem for
for a better reality. And this is something that applies not only to Berlin but also the future. What is needed is not a new Utopia, but rather a blueprint for a better
to the majority of other large cities. Berlin might, however, prompt initiatives that reality. And this is something that applies not only to Berlin but also to the majority
go beyond its particular problematic and thus assume an exemplary and universal of other large cities. Berlin might, however, prompt initiatives that go beyond its
character. particular problematic and thus assume an exemplary and universal character.

Conclusion Conclusion
The concept of the archipelago-city answers a series of fundamental urban design The concept of the dense archipelago answers a series of fundamental urban
demands, such as: design demands, such as:
- inding a solution to the problem of reduction that goes hand in hand with - finding a solution to the housing problem that goes hand in hand with a
improvement in quality, as opposed to the loss in quality that is concomitant to densification process, as opposed to the loss of quality that is concomitant with
constant growth and expansion low density extensive development
-improving urban quality by ofering varied and versatile spaces for living and - improving urban quality by offering varied and versatile spaces for living and
activities activities
- creating a pluralistic system of unresolved contradictions, instead of a unitary - enhancing a pluralistic system of unresolved contradictions, instead of a unitary
and centralized system and centralized system
- restoring identity in urban spaces - preserving identity in urban spaces

72 73
- establishing a close link between city and country, which means renewing the - re-establishing a close link between citizens and the city, which means enabling
relationship between culture and nature a more flexible use of space
- the intensiication of places, along with the preservation of collective memory - the intensification of places, along with the preservation of collective memory
and historical consciousness, understood as a continuity of space and time and historical consciousness, understood as a continuity of space and time
- the individualization of architecture and, simultaneously, an improved adapt- - the individualization of architecture and, simultaneously, an improved adaptabil-
ability to the wishes and expectations of inhabitants ity to the wishes and expectations of inhabitants
- the need for smaller units so as to create more manageable living and working
areas at the scale of the city, and that of individual buildings.

74 75
Thesis 11 Open point

The project ought to be carried out in several stages over a long period of time. In this final thesis O.M.Ungers delineates the path that would eventually bring
The irst phase is concerned with the formal and content-related description of to the realization of the Green Archipelago, opening the manifesto to further
the characteristics of the city. The second phase deals with the development of discussion and officially proposing it as a programmatic document for what would
alternative models. The third phase covers the evaluation of the diferent models eventually become the IBA ‘87.
and the formulation of programs. The fourth is the design phase and the ifth is
that of the actual realization. If we grant one year to each of these phases, it will This re-writing of The City in The City has different objectives:
take at least ive years to complete the whole project.
- On a first level it traces a parasitic strategy that proposes the active use of
Explanation documents and ideas from the past, re-projecting them into the future.
The results of the irst phase, which principally consists in cataloging the elements
and structures of the city, ought to be presented in an exhibition and discussed - On a second level it is a use of architectural theory as a tool for narrative design.
during the Bauwochen. In terms of method, this research should be organized as
a system of fairly open morphological lines so as to allow integrations during the - On a third level it is the proposal of a conscious reconnection between the
work. The second phase, the development of alternative models, serves to go more architectural and the metropolitan level.
deeply into the architectonic and urban planning vocabulary. The possible Uto-
pias for the future should also be compared and contrasted with each other. The This manifesto depends on the existence of The City in the City. It is not an
alternatives serve to prepare the decision-making phase. independent document but rather a re-writing, an update, a review. The process
As Popper recommends, hypotheses should be put forward that, in subsequent of re-writing is not limited to this version of the manifesto, but could be repeated
phases and through critical evaluation based on realistic criteria, are then either multiple times with different criteria producing different scenarios and outcomes.
conirmed, modiied, or rejected. The appraisal of these alternatives would, for Hence, there is no possible unidirectional conclusion to this manifesto, but rather
the main part, be the task of political commissions, and also of individual citizens. an invitation to repeat the work on this document - or other documents - and
The results of the two phases should later be discussed in public meetings and be produce new narratives.
published. After the formulation of the programs comes the phase of designing
the urban islands and the green zones between them. At this stage, we ought to
avoid showing a preference for a uniied architectural style. Rather, the rule of
maintaining as wide as possible an architectural spectrum should be adhered to.

76 77
Conclusion
The punctual realization of prototypical examples illustrating the whole concept
might be the purpose and subject of a building exhibition in the 1980s. Along the
way, exhibitions could be organized every year, during the Bauwochen, to show-
case the diferent work stages in progress. In a continuation of the irst Summer
School held in Berlin this year, certain topics from the overall concept could be
reexamined and theoretically re-elaborated. International architects should be
invited for extended stays in Berlin to work on these projects. An independent
group of experts should be set up to organize the entire planning.

78 79
Typology, system of groupings (such as
“landed gentry” or “rain forests”), usually
called types, the members of which
are identified by postulating specified
attributes that are mutually exclusive
and collectively exhaustive - groupings
set up to aid demonstration or inquiry by
establishing a limited relationship among
phenomena. A type may represent one
kind of attribute or several and need
include only those features that are
significant for the problem at hand.

Encyclopædia Britannica

TYP O L O G I C A L
STUD I E S
81
 ANALYZED ESTIMATED PLOT AREA
DATA INHABITANTS (sm)

R50 state of art 71 2000

Ökohäuser state of art 90 3900

Berliner Block
Apartment 4

Ökohäuser
Askanischer Askanischer project 250 6000
Platz Platz
Apartment 3
Lützowplatz R50

Apartment 2

Apartment 1
Lützowplatz project 450 7200

Berliner state of art 3355 46000

Block

83
The R50 is an example of how the Baugruppen praxis has renewed the idea of
dwelling in Berlin through the involvement of dwellers in the architectural process.
The building is conceived as the sum of a “hard” and a “soft” structure. The first
includes the slabs, the central stairwell and air, water and electricity ducts. It is the
fixed part of the building, a minimal infrastructure that allows further development.
The “soft” structure is developed while construction is already ongoing. During
this time the inhabitants define the actual spatial configuration of apartments and
rooms. This method has been widely adopted as a practice due to its arguable
material advantages - construction can begin before the discussion on internal
distribution is over, inhabitants are able decide the details of each apartment,
spaces remain flexible and are open to be separated or combined in the future
- but it also represents a way of redefining urban living in terms of personal and
community space. The building contains two major common spaces: a double-
height common room at the basement level and a common roof terrace.
These two spaces were also defined by preliminary discussion with the clients.

Considering its peculiar features, the R50 is an almost literal interpretation of

what Ungers defined as an urban villa and it presents the same features in terms
of spatial quality, density and flexibility. Its simple structure and its efficient plan
configuration qualify the building as a paradigm for the further development of
urban living concepts.

R5 0
85
 address: Ritterstraße 50, Berlin - Kreuzberg
architects: Ifau & Jesko Fezer, Heide & Von Beckerat
construction: 2013
plot area: 2000 m2
built area: 395 m2
levels: 7 above ground
estimated number of inhabitants: 70
estimated density (plot only): 357 inh/ha
estimated density (streets included): 183 inh/ha
FAR: 1,58

86 87
 a

1 - south service duct HARD

2 - north service duct STRUCTURE
3 - common terrace
4 - common room
5 - bike parking area
1 2
b

24.3 m

22.9 m 16.2 m

17.4 m 14.7 m

5
a b

88 89
 SOFT
STRUCTURE
3

common 4 5
room

- 2.00 m 4.00 m

1 6

2 common 7 8
room

1.00 m 7.00 m

90 91
 SOFT
STRUCTURE
9
15

10 11 16 17

10.00 m 15.00 m

12 18 19

13 14 common
terrace

12.00 m 18.00 m

92 93
Plotar
ea+st
reet
s Plotar
ea Bui
ltar
ea Hei
ght(stor
eys)
2570 2000 395 8st
oreys

Uni
ts Number Level
s Ar
eaI Ter
races Ter
race Bedr
ooms
(
sm) (
sm)

Fl
at1 1 1 95 2
Fl
at2 1 1 90 3
Fl
at3 1 1 95 2
Fl
at4 1 1 100 3
Fl
at5 1 1 90 4
Fl
at6 1 1 110 4
Fl
at7 1 1 80 1
Fl
at8 1 1 90 3
Fl
at9 1 1 90 2
Fl
at10 1 1 90 3
Fl
at11 1 1 105 3
Fl
at12 1 1 95 2
Fl
at13 1 1 90 2
Fl
at14 1 1 105 3
Fl
at15 1 1 100 2
Fl
at16 1 1 90 2
Fl
at17 1 1 90 3
Fl
at18 1 1 90 2
Fl
at19 1 1 90 1
Commonroom 1 1 100
Commont
errace 1 75
Commonbalcony 5 55

Tot
al Total Tot
al Tot
al Tot
al
19 1885 6 350 47

94 95
 Tot
ali
nhabi
tant
s Densi
ty(
onl
ypl
ot) Densi
ty(
wit
hst
reet
s)
(
1,5xbedr
ooms
) (
inh/
ha) (
inh/
ha)
71 353 183

Ar
eaperi
nh Ter
raceperi
nh
(
sm) (
sm)
27 5

96 97
The Ökohäuser are an experimental housing project in open form. They were
realized in the larger context of the IBA 1987, although the construction process
took longer and was completed in 1991. Like the R50 building, the Ökohäuser
are based on a distinction between “soft” and “hard” structure. Here the latter is
substantiated by simple concrete frame structures on the model of Le Corbusier’s
Dom-ino system. The frames consist of sets of two platforms. The first ones
float at about six and a half meters above ground level, the second ones around
thirteen meters above ground. Each set is connected by external linear stairwells
that are also made of concrete. The basic idea that lead to the project was that
of multiplying the soil, thus allowing a larger number of people to build houses
on the same plot of land, merging the qualities of urban density and suburban
living. Each infrastructure was divided in slots that could be purchased by future
dwellers, who would then design their own house and build it independently
through light construction.
Each slot was given a big amount of space that resulted in generally large houses
(around 150 sm average) that often happen to have also large terraces. Although
the building could potentially develop into an ongoing process of construction
rather than a finished whole, all lots were immediately filled and no houses were
removed, replaced or added since 1991.

The Ökohäuser are an unusual interpretation of the urban villa concept, as they
successfully merge suburban standards with urban density. The radical division
between hard and soft structure here is integrated by a larger availability of space:
the single units are not limited to the single level, but they rather develop vertically
into townhouses or double-height spaces.

ÖKOHÄUS ER
99
 address: Corneliusstraße 11/12_Rauchstraße 21, Berlin - Tiergarten
architect: Frei Otto (hard structure)
construction: 1991
plot area: 3900 m2
built area: 1700 m2
levels: max 5 above ground
estimated number of inhabitants: 87 (1,5 per bedroom)
estimated density: 222 inh/he
FAR: 2,61

100 101
 HARD
STRUCTURE

102 103
 HARD
STRUCTURE

14.3 m

13.9 m 13.60 m

6.3 m

17.1 m

6.3 m

11.3 m b
7.30 m 27.9 m
7.9 m
11.1 m

1.00 m

104 105
ÖKOHAUS 1 HOUSE 1 HOUSE 9 SOFT
Levels: 1 Levels: 2 STRUCTURE
Surface: 130 m2 Surface: 95 + 110 m2
Terrace: 35 m2 Terrace: 40 m2
Bedrooms: 1 Bedrooms: 3
HOUSE 2
Levels: 2
Surface: 85 + 65 m2
Terrace: 45 + 25 m2
Bedrooms: 2

HOUSE 3
Levels: 2
Surface: 85 + 75 m2
1 Terrace: 20 + 5 m2
Bedrooms: 2

HOUSE 4
Levels: 2
13.00 m Surface: 80 + 75 m2
Terrace: 20 m2
Bedrooms: 2

HOUSE 5
Levels: 2
Surface: 100 + 100 m2
Terrace: 55 m2
2 5 2 3 4 5
Bedrooms: 4
3 4
HOUSE 6
Levels: 2
Surface: 85 + 95 m2
7.00 m 10.00 m
Terrace: 20 + 20 m2
Bedrooms: 2

HOUSE 7
Levels: 2
Surface: 90 + 100 m2
9 Terrace: 10 + 10 m2
6 Bedrooms: 3
6 8
7 7 9
8 HOUSE 8
Levels: 2
Surface: 80 + 95 m2
1.00 m 4.00 m Terrace: 10 m2
Bedrooms: 3

106 107
ÖKOHAUS 2 HOUSE 10 HOUSE 18 SOFT
Levels: 1 Levels: 2 STRUCTURE
Surface: 150 m2 Surface: 95 + 95 m2
Terrace: 30 m2 Terrace: 30 + 30 m2
Bedrooms: 1 Bedrooms: 4

HOUSE 11
Levels: 2
Surface: 90 + 75 m2
Terrace: 55 + 25 m2
Bedrooms: 1

HOUSE 12
Levels: 2
14 Surface: 90 + 85 m2
10 Terrace: 20 + 15 m2
Bedrooms: 3

HOUSE 13
Levels: 2
13.00 m Surface: 85 + 85 m2
Terrace: 20 m2
Bedrooms: 3

HOUSE 14
Levels: 3
Surface: 80 + 90 + 25 m2
11 Terrace: 55 + 10 + 50 m2
12 13 12 13 14 Bedrooms: 3
11 14
HOUSE 15
Levels: 2
Surface: 100 + 90 m2
7.00 m 10.00 m
Terrace: 25 + 30 m2
Bedrooms: 2

HOUSE 16
Levels: 2
Surface: 100 + 100 m2
15 16 15 16
Terrace: 20 + 20 m2
18 18 Bedrooms: 3
17 17
HOUSE 17
Levels: 2
Surface: 110 + 110 m2
1.00 m 4.00 m Terrace: 15 m2
Bedrooms: 2

108 109
ÖKOHAUS 3 HOUSE 19 (x2) 0FFICE 27 SOFT
Levels: 1 Surface: 140 m2 STRUCTURE
Surface: 105 m2
Terrace: 50 m2
Bedrooms: 1

HOUSE 20
Levels: 2
Surface: 65 + 65 m2
Terrace: 40 + 5m2
Bedrooms: 2

HOUSE 21
Levels: 2
19 Surface: 100 + 100 m2
19
Terrace: 50 + 5 m2
Bedrooms: 3

HOUSE 22
Levels: 2
13.00 m Surface: 80 + 75 m2
Terrace: 20 + 5 m2
Bedrooms: 2

HOUSE 23
20 20 Levels: 2
21 Surface: 90 + 85 m2
21
22 Terrace: 40 + 5 m2
23 22
23 Bedrooms: 2

HOUSE 24
Levels: 2
Surface: 80 + 80 m2
7.00 m 10.00 m
Terrace: 15 + 5 m2
Bedrooms: 2

HOUSE 25
Levels: 2
24 24 26 Surface: 95 + 95 m2
25
Terrace: 15 m2
25 27 Bedrooms: 2

0FFICE 26
Surface: 95 m2

1.00 m 4.00 m

110 111
Plotar
ea+st
reet
s Plotar
ea Buil
tar
ea Hei
ght(stor
eys)
4660 3900 1700 5st
oreys

Uni
ts Number Level
s Ar
eaI Ar
eaI
I Ar
eaI
II Ter
races Ter
raceI Ter
race
(
sm) (
sm) (
sm) (
sm) (
sm)

House1 1 1 150 1 30
House2 1 3 80 90 25 3 55 10
House3 1 2 90 75 3 55
House4 1 2 90 85 2 20
House5 1 2 85 85 1 20
House6 1 2 100 90 3 25
House7 1 2 100 100 2 20
House8 1 2 110 110 1 15
House9 1 2 95 95 2 30
House10 1 1 130 2 30 5
House11 1 2 85 65 4 25 20
House12 1 2 85 75 2 20
House13 1 2 80 75 1 20
House14 1 2 100 100 1 55
House15 1 2 85 95 2 20
House16 1 2 90 100 2 10
House17 1 2 80 95 2 10
House18 1 2 95 110 1
House19 2 1 105 1 50
House20 1 2 65 65 2 40
House21 1 2 100 100 2 50
House22 1 2 80 75 2 20
House23 1 2 90 85 2 40
House24 1 2 80 80 2 15
House25 1 2 95 95 1 15
Off
i
ce1
Off
i
ce2

Tot
al Total Tot
al Total
26 4420 2095 48 1080

112 113
 Aver
agear
ea Aver
aget
err
ace Bedr
oomsperf
lat
(
sm) (
sm)
170 42 2,
3

Tot
ali
nhabi
tant
s Densi
ty(
onl
ypl
ot) Densi
ty(
wit
hst
reet
s)
(
1,5xbedr
ooms) (
inh/
ha) (
inh/
ha)
90 231 129

Ar
eaperi
nh Ter
raceperi
nh
(
sm) (
sm)
49 12

114 115
Frei Otto’s project for Asckanischer Platz is the original design for an open form
dwelling system and the project was also submitted for the IBA 1987. The proposal
was withdrawn due to objections from J. P. Kleyhues, the director of the exhibition.
The design enhances the same principle of the Ökohäuser, but it takes the idea
to a more radical outcome, resulting in a 55 meters high concrete scaffold that
is supposed to host a high number of independent houses with gardens. The
larger scale was supposed to enhance a larger spectrum of possibilities for
future inhabitants and a superior level of porosity. Houses were expected to be
surrounded by large common gardens and other functions were supposed to
merge in a sort of vertical green city. The concrete platforms were designed as
mountain contours, like terraces, allowing each platform to have proper access to
solar radiation.

A S K A N I SCHER
PLATZ
117
 address: Dessauer Straße
architect: Frei Otto
construction: -
plot area: 6000 m2
built area: 2200 m2
levels: max 15 above ground
presumed number of inhabitants: 250
presumed density: 416 inh/he
FAR: 1,18

118 119
 30.8 m

HARD
STRUCTURE

6.3 m
52.10 m

6.3 m

6.3 m 39.50 m 45.80 m

6.3 m

6.3 m
19.90 m 26.20 m

6.3 m

6.3 m

7.30 m 13.60 m
a a
120 121
The experimental housing development in Lützowplatz is a building designed by
O. M. Ungers that stems from an interpretation of the urban villa concept, but in a
different way in respect to the previous examples. In this case there is no distinction
between “hard” and “soft” structure, but rather an approach to distribution that
emphasizes the quality of the single dwelling units. The building enhances the
concept of terraces within the framework of an ordinary urban block, mixing large
country-like gardens with high density housing.
The scheme that underpins this juncture is simple and clever at the same time.
It is based on piling a single type of housing units, the size of which is roughly that
of Frei Otto’s Ökohäuser. In this case the houses were all designed to match the
requirements of a standard 4 bedrooms suburban house.

The building was demolished in 2012 in order to be replaced with a hotel with
higher density, according to the wishes of private investors.

L Ü T Z OW P L A T Z
123
address: Lützowplatz, Berlin - Tiergarten
architect: O.M. Ungers
construction: 1983
demolition: 2010
plot area: 7200 m2
built area: 3500 m2
storeys: max 6 above ground
presumed number of inhabitants: 351 - 450
presumed density: 416 - 624 inh/ha

124 125
126 127
 Number Levels Surface Terrace Bedrooms Number Levels Surface Terrace Bedrooms
(m2) (m2) (m2) (m2)

Type 1 2 2 130 30 3+1 Type 3 4 1 115 15 3

Type 2 28 2 120 30 3+1 Type 4 3 1 90 15 + 15 2+1
Type 5 28 2 120 30 3+1

1 3
5.00 m 4 11.00 m

2 5

1 3
2.00 m 4 8.00 m

2 5

128 129
 Number Levels Surface Terrace Bedrooms
(m2) (m2)

Type 6 1 2 120 30 3+1

Type 7 2 2 120 30 3+1
Type 8 2 2 120 30 3+1
Type 9 6 1 60 30 1
Type 10 1 1 60 30 1
Type 11 2 1 30 - 1
Type 12 6 1 90 30 3

a b
17.00 m

a b

d
6
8 7
c

14.00 m

11

5
10

6
8 7 d
130 131
 Sheet1
Sheet1
Sheet1
Sheet1
Sheet1
Sheet1 Sheet1
Sheet1
Sheet1
Sheet1
Wohngebi
etLüt
zowpl
atz

Sheet1
Adress Ar
chi
tect Proj
ect Constr
uct
ion Demoli
ti
on
Sheet1
Sheet1
Lüt
zowpl. O.
M.Ungers 1980 1983 2010

Sheet1
Sheet1
Plotar
ea+st
reet
s Plotar
ea Buil
tar
ea Hei
ght(stor
eys)
10330 7200 3500 6st
oreys Sheet1
Sheet1
Uni
ts Number Level
s AreaIAreaI
ITer
races Ter
r Sheet1
aceITer
raceI IBedr
oom
(
sm) (
sm)
Sheet1 (
sm) (
sm)

Ty
pe1 28 2 60 60 1 30 4
Ty
pe2 2
6 2
1 60 60 1 30 4
Ty
pe3 28 2 60
95 65 1 30 4
3
Ty
pe4 6 1 60
3 60 1 30 4
1
Ty
pe5 28 2
1 90 1 30 3
Ty
pe6 1 1 30 1
Ty
pe7 3 1 60 1 30 1
Ty
pe8 6 1 90 2 15 15 3
Ty
pe9 2 2 60 1 30 1
Ty
pe10 6
2 1
2 60 60 1 30 4
Ty
pe11 2
1 2 60 60 1 30 1
4
Ty
pe12 2
4 2
1 60 60 1 30 4
60 60 1 30 4
Tot
al Total Tot
al Total Tot
al
85 9330 86 2430 300

Aver
agear
ea Aver
aget
err
ace Bedr
oomsperf
lat
(
sm) (
sm)
110 29 3,
5

Tot
ali
nhabi
tant
s Densi
ty(
onl
ypl
ot) Densi
ty(
wit
hst
reet
s) s)
(
1,5xbedr
ooms
) (
inh/
ha) (
inh/
ha)
450 625 290

Ar
eaperi
nh Ter
raceperi
nh
(
sm) (
sm)
21 5

132 133
 Type 6

17.00 m

14.00 m

Type 5

11.00 m

8.00 m

5.00 m
Type 2

2.00 m

134 135
The Berlin Block is one of the most distinctive architectural typologies in the city
of Berlin. It developed spontaneously after Olbrecht’s plan (1862) as a flexible
housing typology that could host the enormous amount of rural immigrants that
were flooding in the city at the time.
At a first glance the striking feature of the Berlin block is its size. It generally
stretches for two hundred meters on each side, twice as long as the traditional
Barcelona block. The size of the block results in the Höfe, an intricate net of
courtyards connected by gateways. The Berlin Block is one of the densest urban
typologies in Europe and its size is sufficient to host large office buildings and
small industries alongside apartments and shops.

The Berlin Block represents a shift in scale from the previous examples, it is a
larger urban scheme in which many R50s or Ökohäuser could sit simultaneously.
In this case studying the Berlin Block means upgrading the concepts of hard and
soft structure to a larger scale, questioning the way in which different buildings
coexist in a larger whole.

B ER L I NER
B L OC K
137
 address: Immanuelkirchstr. / Prenzlauer Allee / Marienburger Str. / Winsstr.
architect: -
construction: from mid XIX century
plot area: 46000 m2
built area: 29000 m2
levels: max 7 above ground
presumed number of inhabitants: 3355
presumed density: 583 inh/he
FAR: 3.94

138 139
 total number of trees: 97
on sidewalks: 58
in courtyards: 39
a

c
a b c

d
e

e
f

140 141
 private access Mietskaserne
free access office building

142 143
individual plots within the block The complexity of the Berliner Block is the result of interactions between objects
at different scales. In order to get a hold of this complexity I recognized three levels
that interact with each other. These are the unit scale (Wohnung), the building
scale (Mietskaserne) and the block scale. Thinking in terms of open form, the
issue of the relationship between these levels can be targeted from two points of
view: a bottom up or a top down perspective.
From a bottom up perspective each of these elements is part of a bigger scheme.
It is a game of possibility (what can we do?).
From a top down perspective, on the other hand, each smaller element is defined
by the bigger one. It is a game of allowance (what do we let them do?).

DWELLERS SCALE
(sm)
order of order of
magnitude magnitude

WOHNUNG 1 to 10 10 to 100

MIETSKASERNE 10 to 100 1000

BLOCK 100 to 1000 10000

144 145
CONSIDERING THE ISSUE..

.. FROM A BOTTOM UP PERSPECTIVE .. FROM A TOP DOWN PERSPECTIVE

The WOHNUNG is a piece of the Mietskaserne. The city defines the Block.

The MIETSKASERNE is a piece of the Block. The BLOCK defines the Mietskaserne.

The BLOCK is a piece of the city. The MIETSKASERNE defines the Wohnung.

The WOHNUNG defines the living space.

146 147
Most of the buildings that form the Berlin Blocks were built in around second half
of the XIX century and they go by the name of Mietskasernen (rental barracks).
They constitute a specific type of residential building, so deep-rooted in the urban
tradition that there is a specific slang vocabulary to describe their features and
forms. Mietskasernen are characterized by a high degree of flexibility. They are
designed as linear successions of generic rooms around one or more courtyards,
distributed on 5 or 6 levels. Due to the plots disposition in the Berliner Blocks
most of the apartments had access to a single facade and a limited amount
of windows, which resulted in a scarce exposure to air and natural light. This -
together with the concerns regarding sanitation - resulted in a general negative
perception of the Mietskasernen, and this type of building was highly criticized
throughout the XX century. Yet, today, refurbished apartments in Berliner Blocks
are highly appreciated and are becoming progressively more expensive.
In order to define a realistic scenario about what it means to live in such buildings
today, I exposed my own experience of inhabiting four different Mietskaserne
apartments in the course of two years. These all have different features regarding
their position within the block, their access to light and air and their morphology,
presenting a small spectrum of living situations.

M I E T S K A S ERNE
149
 1877 1872
Bandelstraße 45 Birkenstraße 49
Berlin Moabit Berlin Moabit

150 151
 APARTMENT 1 APARTMENT 2

Weserstraße 82 Manitiusstraße 2
Berlin Neukölln Berlin Neukölln

n
kitchen sto

he
rag
e

kitc
wc 70 sm wc 70 sm
Alberto’s living
room
2 dwellers 2 dwellers

Matteo’s
room
sleep

152 153
 APARTMENT 3 APARTMENT 4

sleep
living Adalbertstraße 23 Immanuelkirchstraße 9
Berlin Kreuzberg Prenzlauer Berg
living
sleep
50 sm 60 sm
wc

n
wc

he
kitchen

tc
ki
2 dwellers 2 dwellers

154 155
NO S T O P B LOCK
The building scale possibility of vertical extension
In order to define a urban scheme I will start from the building scale, introducing
modified versions of two of the previous examples: the R50 Baugruppe and the
Lützowplatz housing concept. Both constitute simple frameworks that ought to be
developed further with light construction.

modified Lützowplatz unit

modified R50 unit

158 159
modified Lützowplatz unit

x + 30 m

x + 24 m

x + 18 m

living
(+ working)

x + 12 m

x+6m

common space level x

160 161
modified R50 unit

common space x + 30 m

x + 24 m

x + 18 m

living
(+ working)

x + 12 m

x+6m

common space level x

162 163
vertical extension of R50 unit

common space x + 60 m

x + 54 m

x + 48 m

living
(+ working)

x + 42 m

x + 36 m

common space x + 30 m

164 165
The block scale
Let’s jump to a larger scale. The objective here is to develop a system in which The plinth could also include existing railways, roads or parking lots, allowing the
the building units can work together as a whole. In order to do that I’ll take the block to be superimposed on existing mobility infrastructures. The summit of the
previously examined Berlin block as an example. In order to emphasize flexibility plinth forms a new ground floor level on which the building units are built. From
and allow larger functions into the block I will introduce a 9 meters high plinth here it is possible to access the common spaces of the buildings and a have direct
beneath the building units. This could host a large spectrum of activities such as visual communication with the lower level.
malls, cinemas, theaters, sport centers, schools and temporary functions such as
the ones described in the first chapter (thesis 3).

presumed number of inhabitants: 2648 expected number of inhabitants: 2600

presumed density: 583 inh/he expected density: 565 inh/he

166 167
 plinth retail + common living

a c

b d

+ 1.00 m

b d

168 169
The infinite scale + 1.00 m
Now, the block I developed so far is specific in terms of location. In order to
transform it into a typology that could be applied in different contexts I’ll generalize
the project by transforming it into an infinite algorithm. This infinite space is clearly
not real: it is rather an abstraction that allows us to consider the block not as a
defined whole, but rather as a part of a larger hypothetical grid. This infinite space
is not meant to be the final step of the process: it ought to be confronted with the
real, finite space of the city. In the next paragraph I’ll face the no stop block with
one of the magnets I defined in the first chapter of this thesis.
+ 10.00 m
+ 16.00 m
176 177
I ND U S T R I EGE B I E T
H E R Z B ERGERS T RA ß E
178 179
 The industrial area in Lichtenberg is undergoing a process of redefinition. In
recent years it has become a magnet for different communities in Berlin, the most
notable being the Vietnamese community that gravitates around the Dong Xuan
Center, a strange mix between an ethnic shopping mall and a cultural center.
Recently the area also attracted the attention of a major gallery (the Haubrok
collection) and it is relatively easy to find other traces of hidden cultural activity in
the neighborhood, such as rehearsal studios and ateliers.
An abandoned railway line crosses the area, suggesting the possibility of a
possible reuse as a pedestrian path, and many undeveloped plots are filled with
trees, like tiny specks of forest within the urban fabric. In 2012 the architectural
office Brandlhuber+ carved two monumental towers out of an industrial building,
attempting to create an identity space in the area.
Today this neighborhood is probably the best example of a relatively underrated
area that could be reinforced as a part of the Gegenstadt.

180 181
 SAN GIMINIANO
LICHTENBERG
a methaphorical
monument by
Brandlhuber+

DONG abandoned
XUAN industrial
CENTER railway loop
Vietnamese
mall and
cultural center

PROBERAUM
rehearsal
studios

HAUBROK
SAMMLUNG
art gallery and
ateliers

ateliers and
lofts

182 183
184 185
figure ground plan possible construction sites (following the criteria in thesis 6)

186 187
 By selecting the sites I essentially erase what is there already,
letting the hypothetical grid emerge. This is not simply a
rhetorical proposition: it underlines the destructive power of
construction and it implies that the grid is already there, in our
a imaginary space, well hidden under the surface of the city.
Architecture doesn’t fall from above: it raises from the ground.

f
188 189
selection of the pattern according to the available plots
 a

e
development on site c

194 195
196 197
F L OO R P L A N
V A R I A T I ONS
hard structure - modified R50 unit 1 - service ducts

1 1

1 1

200 201
studio apartments

202 203
regular size apartments

204 205
wohngemeinschaften

206 207
townhouses

208 209
level x x+3m

210 211
immeuble villa

212 213
level x x+3m

214 215
unité d’habitation

216 217
level x x+3m

218 219
BI B L I OGR A PHY
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Architecture, 1999. Ritterstraße in Marburg, Ithaca (USA), Cornell University Press, 1976.

Arnulf Rainer, Schwarze Architektur, Berlin (DE), Universitätsbibliothek der Technischen Oswald Mathias Ungers, Kenneth Frampton, O.M.Ungers: works in progress, New York
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Kristien Ring, auf.einander.bauen, Berlin (DE), Jovis, 2007. Oswald Mathias Ungers, Architettura come tema, Milano (IT), Electa, 1982.

Kristien Ring, AA PROJECTS, Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Umwelt, Oswald Mathias Ungers, Architektur 1951 - 1990, Milano (IT), Electa, 1991.
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Joachim Schlandt, Die Wiener Superclocks, Berlin (DE), Universitätsbibliothek der
Technischen Universität Berlin Abteilung Publikationen, 1969. T. Valena, T. Avermaete, G. Vrachliotis, Structuralism reloaded: rule-based design in
architecture and urbanism, Stuttgart (DE), Menges, 2011.
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MAGAZINES
Senatsverwaltung für Bau- und Wohnungswesen, Großsiedlungen. Montagebau in
Berlin (Ost), Berlin (DE), Druckhaus Hentrich, 1992. Sandra Bartoli, Silvian Linden, Architektur in Gebrauch 1. The Architect and Building
News, The Golden Lane Housing Estate, Berlin (DE), Büro für Konstruktivismus, 2013.
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(DE), Kulturbuchverlag, 2006. Sandra Bartoli, Silvian Linden, Architektur in Gebrauch 4. Tiergarten, Berlin (DE), Büro
für Konstruktivismus, 2013.
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(DE), Arch+ Verlag, 1993.
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Köln (DE), Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1972. Nikolaus Kuhnert, Anh-Linh Ngo, Arch + 201/202. Zurück aus Neuteutonia. Berlin:
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ARTICLES

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un design non oppressivo, Milano (IT), Electa, 1970.

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European Journal of planning on-line, vol. 1, pp. 2, 2013.

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of Architecture and Urbanism, Routledge -Taylor & Francis Group, London (UK), vol 38,
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die freiwilligen gefangenen der Architektur”, in Arch+ 209. Kapital(e) London, pp. 32 - 47,
Aachen (DE), Arch+ Verlag, 2012.

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Rutledge, 2008.

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 This thesis is the result of two years of obsessive research. It would be incredibly difficult

to list the great amount of people that contributed to the development of my thoughts, if

only through tiny informal conversations. Therefore I would like to thank collectively all

my friends in Turin and Berlin, my former colleagues at Sauerbruch Hutton and all the

supportive people I met along the path. Seriously, thank you guys.

The following is a list of exceptional contributors. This thesis wouldn’t be here without them.

A great special thank you to Jean Philippe Vassal, who accepted me as a student and

spent a lot of time caring about this work. I am really grateful for the opportunity I was given.

A great thank you to my home tutor Pierre Alain Croset for his support and dedication, both

in Turin and abroad. This thesis is a product of his devotion and open-mindedness.

Thank you to Angelo Sampieri for the amazingly deep conversations and the witty advices

that dissolved some of the large bits of confusion in my brain.

Thank you to Jeanne-Françoise Fischer and Felix Dechert from Lehrstuhl Vassal for their

support.

Thank you to Antonio Pedro Faria for showing me the possibility of getting into this in the

first place.

Thank you to Mario Bajrossi, Michela Benedetti, Michele Cerruti But, Giulia Di Marco,

Annika Falkstedt, Jan Ferrarons, Samuele Fuda, Matteo Giordano, Laura Graziani, Maria

Glionna, Marco Migliavacca, Marilivia Minnici, Friedrich Neukirchen, Francesc Ruiz Abad,

Ben Schoenewolf, Niccolò Suraci, Paolo Tarizzo. Your help was crucial in many different

ways: if you didn’t know, now you know.

Special thanks to Simon Geisel and Albert Hermann, whose ideas inspired a bunch of

things in this work.

Un grande grazie mille (in Italiano) a mia mamma e mio papà per il loro meraviglioso

supporto, in tutti i sensi.

E riservo l’ultimo grazie, il più grande di tutti, a Giulia.

ACKNOW L E DG E M E NTS