Sub-area 3 – ‘Railway Ring, border to the City Centre’: Jungfernheide S-Bahn Station
Entrant‘s description
Water Landscape – The topography of the Berlin area was shaped by shifting glaciers and river courses. The rural landscape is shaped by agricultural fields and nature reserves such as forests. The Spree meanders in a vibrant network of rivers and tributaries. Some of them are natural, others have been created or are artificially regulated. The abundance of different conditions created by the flowing water produced the urban structures and their different functions in the respective regions.
Little Big Berlin – The Berlin-Brandenburg region consists of a large number of urban and natural structures that make up an exceptional ensemble. The basis for the ‘big’ vision of this region is the acknowledgment of a system that respects the conditions of the individual places or localities, their hierarchy, the determination of their interfaces, their potential, and their common bonds. The whole is then precisely formed by the bonds between the localities. These are defined morphologically, historically, hierarchically, socially, and through shifts in the common bonds, or other particulars.
Bodies of Water – Berlin is an archipelago of smaller urban complexes. The settlements in the landscape then either form lines in the industrial areas or are adapted to the character of the flows. Their positions then determine the settlements’ unique character, conditions, and possible uses – from the designed landscape to the region’s industrial background. They form islands. By defining and developing these centres, an alternative, circular reading of the region – with its centres and sub-centres characterised by strong identities – can be created. The flow of the infrastructure and the landscape determine both the star-shaped settlement pattern and the surrounding lake landscape. They are akin to a ‘developmental skeleton’, which is responsible for the metropolitan region’s diverse character.
Radials – To better understand the standards of Greater Berlin, we have defined three zones radiating from the centre of the metropolis – at radii of 7.5 kilometres, 15 kilometres, and 30 kilometres. Berlin should not expand beyond this limit as a city. Each circle is organised according to a different guiding principle. Each principle increases the complexity of the entire region.
Concept – We have selected three areas, each in or on the border of one of the radial zones. These were chosen with regard to the given topics and to their functions in the river or lake landscape. We allow for the development of industry in the chosen locations along the lake area’s radials. In the landscape zone, we propose the land be used for sustainable agriculture and the logical bolstering of recreational opportunities. We complement and connect the bodies of water into a network. In the zones near the river, we recommend the development of a science and research centre, in accordance with local conditions. The expansion of the riverside should ensure people’s access to the river and the river’s to the people. Hidden or covered bodies of water should be revealed or opened.
Circular Railway – Border Area – We regard the circular suburban railroad as a space for exploring new urban forms. We therefore propose taking advantage of Berlin’s inner reserves along the circular suburban railway by creating an exclusive transport link as a way of exploring new urban structures. We introduce sustainable and high-density blocks along the edge of the railway. The blocks, characterised by diverse interiors and typologies, represent a new energy for the city. One block, attached to the railway station building, serves as a gateway into the block’s courtyard and the centre of activity. It is clearly differentiated from its surroundings. The design of the block establishes an inner park. The Canyon structure displays green space, a programmatic and typological diversity of Berlin.
Block of Diversity – Allotment Gardens in the Mixed-use, City-scale Block – The railway station below an undulating roof serves as the entryway into a super block. It connects an old structure with a new district. You can park your car here, pick up your bike, or continue into the Canyon’s pedestrian area. You enter a square with a market. The town square forms the most important public space. You walk past a rooftop cinema. The sun shines through the light wooden constructions of the vertical farms in a sustainably run institution. The glass façades produce energy here. Admire the bends in the public space as you walk towards the residential building. Here you will find various pavilions with different functions. A school, a gallery, a community centre. You continue through a park intersected by two small reclaimed lakes. The green spaces are not just for recreational use; vegetables are also grown here. The community gardens extend up to the roofs of the surrounding apartments. Green roofs filter the greywater. The residential units are arranged in the clusters with inner courtyards and ground floors; you pass a café and the shops that connect the inner park with the waterfront through the passageways. Downriver, you head towards the site of the concert earlier in the day. It was wonderful. The baroque patterns of the Charlottenburg Garden are visible from the terrace level of your hotel. You imagine what it looked like here 50 years ago. The river estuaries reflect the evening sky over Berlin.
Research Island – Complements the unique character of a radial of the star-shaped settlement pattern. The radial’s character is itself determined programmatically by the university, science, and research institutions. The end of the radial forms an island surrounded by the Spree and an artificial waterway. This spatial transformation improves the direct train link to the Berlin Brandenburg Airport. The outstanding site on the tip reconnect the radial with the water and the historical district of Köpenick and emphasises its centre. We propose pursuing the area’s transformation near the radial’s axis using a typical axis development scheme and situating a science and research district in the space between the radial and the rail line. Near the river, we propose diversifying the river basin and fostering the emergence of an independent water-oriented residential area.
River Realms – Public Spaces as a Motif for the Development of a New City Typology – Leading towards central Berlin is a traffic artery that travels through a patchwork of different neighbourhoods. Since the conversion from fossil fuels to electric cars, it has become a pleasant boulevard full of pedestrians. One arrives on the island from the south. Once a wasteland, it is now a science city, defined in the east by an organic meander, in the west by an alluvial canal. The railway cuts through the landscape. It is controlled remotely and no longer represents a barrier. The residential blocks along the radial and the old buildings facing the river give way to the park and the water surfaces of the marinas and lagoons. They become low-rise towers and buildings with small footprints, where scientists, researchers, and creatives from all over the world can reside, for a month or a year. There are science incubators and a small programme along the ring road and the main axes. Life pulsates here. The vibrant exchange of ideas calms the water surfaces. Successful start-up projects will be moved from the incubators to larger offices along the railway tracks. Old brick buildings on the town square revitalise culture and trade. Running trails lead through the park around the sports facilities. With a boat you can travel straight from the marina into the heart of Berlin.
Network of Lakes – We wish to breathe new life into the landscape with the development of a recreation and nature network. The landscape area around Berlin offers an opportunity to harness existing potential to secure recreational areas and the development of future technologies close to the city, particularly in the agricultural areas of the landscape. We suggest strengthening and completing the system of regional parks situated in and around Berlin. The parks follow the green plan and connect the Berlin’s radials with the landscape. The structure of the landscape has been fragmented by the excessive commercial exploitation. We propose uncovering and renewing the original landscape network of the lakes. Water is a basic element of the landscape structure as well as a basis for the development of recreational, residential, and industrial areas.
Discovered Landscape – Water Archaeology as a Moderator of Living in the Landscape – It is the year 2050. I am driving through the Brandenburg countryside to CO2-neutral Berlin. The once intensively used landscape, subject to erosion from water and wind, is now interwoven with a network of small floodplains and landscape features. The dull abstract vista of the past has been replaced by a linear image of flowing water, avenues, and plantings. Reclaimed waterways provide soil and agriculture with new energy. The archipelago of small lakes, ponds, and wetlands has increased the area’s biodiversity. Berliners from the settlements near the city spend their free time here bird watching, walking through the countryside, and cycling. The number of houses and villages has not changed significantly in the past 50 years. In contrast, sustainable farms have grown. Run-down villages have been redeveloped and complemented with new building. Groups of agricultural buildings with fields and greenhouses have sprung up – self-sufficient communities who harvest their own food and energy.
