Description

Built on top of an S-shaped double tunnel as part of one of the loop highways in Berlin: a 500-m-long, terraced residential development. A total of around 120 different apartment types were created: minimum-size flats, terraced apartments, standardized apartments, maisonettes. Generally the apartments are oriented to only one point of the compass, east or west; however, slanted glass doors toward oriels and terraces admit southeast or southwest light.

In the minimum-size apartments, the kitchens are part of the living area (can be separated off by sliding doors) or are reduced to kitchen counters. Despite standard measurement of 6.10 m bay width, a wide variety of room layouts are offered.

The great depth of the terraced apartments is exploited by inserted kitchens and closets; the slanted folding walls to the bedrooms create a greater sense of width. All larger apartments separate bath and WC; the bath, as a rule, is directly accessible from the bedroom; the second path leads back to the lobby.

Large terraces and loggias supplement the housing strategy. On the fifth floor, an internal street with several community rooms: hobby rooms, playrooms, etc. Guest apartments on the third floor. On ground floor: laundries, bike rooms, etc.

---

Originally published in: Oliver Heckmann, Friederike Schneider (eds.), Floor Plan Manual Housing, fourth revised and expanded edition, Birkhäuser, 2011.