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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

IBA Housing

Berlin, Germany 1986–1993
PROGRAM: Housing and commercial
CLIENT:Degewo AG
AREA:2500 m² (long block: 3 floors; tower: 8 floors)

CONCEPT:

Right from the beginning we had to confront two fundamental issues: the IBA strategy of infill and repair, and the tight building regulations for social housing, which contradict modern open-pan layouts. In addition to these constraints were the surrounding buildings, which represented a wide range of different types and periods, so despite guidelines stipulating that new developments in the area must contain an average of five storeys, a seamless insertion into this erratic context would have been virtually impossible.

We therefore interpreted the five-storey planning restriction by creating a long three-storey block that terminated in an eight-storey tower at the corner. The longer block’s lower floors contain commercial premises with standardised dwellings above; on top is a roof garden with a children’s playground. The sculpted tower, clad in anodized sheet metal, contains three wedge-shaped lofts on each floor.

ARCHITECT: ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS
DESIGN TEAM: Zaha Hadid with Michael Wolfson, David Gomersall, Piers Smerin, David Winslow, Paivi Jaaskelainen
CO-ARCHITECT: Stefan Schroth

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