Baugruppe D2

Newbuild of a residential and commercial ensemble for a housing cooperative.

Location: Donaustraße 2, 12043 Berlin-Neukölln

Year: 2018 - 2022

Team IFUB*: Johannes Krohne, Bernhard Kurz, Miguel Lopez, Mikus Druviņš

Together with:
Winfried Härtel / Project development - www.winfriedhaertel.de

Client: Baugruppe D2

In press: Bauwelt 05/2023, ARCH+ No.251 2023, CUBE Berlin 02/2023, Baukultur DAI 5/2023, Vanity Fair Italy No.45/2023, architektur.aktuell No.12/2023, Architektur Berlin / Building Berlin No.13 03/2024

The designated building plot, situated on a small T-junction at the southern end of a long street, the Pannierstraße, formed a gap at the edge of the block that needed to be filled according to building regulations. To respond to this specific location, the new

front building

was designed with a striking pinnacle, visually echoing the streetside gables of neighboring buildings and balancing the varying eave heights of adjacent ones to the left and right. The facade, with its punctuated windows and contrasting base, further contribute to the building’s harmonious integration into the urban space. The first floor is comprised of two commercial units to revitalize the neighborhood. The colorful glazed clinkers, reminiscent of Neukölln’s facades of the 1970s, also provide a visual reference to the plot’s rear building.

Provisioning for future

conversions

is an essential factor in the design of durable and long-lasting buildings. That is why the apartments in the front house have been designed so that they can be easily divided or combined at a later date.

The

garden house

in the courtyard was built onto the existing fire wall and staggered in height to comply with the legally designated setbacks. The south and east facing decks were designed as terraces to provide maximum outdoor amenity space.

As this view from the front house to the garden house demonstrates, even fire walls can look good! Fire safety regulations require that the open

fire escape

on the front of the garden house be surrounded by non-combustible materials. By incorporating this measure, it was possible to avoid designating space for fire department access, so the whole courtyard could be transformed into a garden. Bicycles and wastebins can be stored in the basement, thus keeping the area uncluttered. The fire-proof, colored clinkers appear to spring from the front building’s ground level to the facade of the garden house, spreading right across it and literally reaching for the sky.

The

glazed clinker brick slips

were sourced from a local manufacturer near Berlin. A cheerful, brightly colored design on the base of the front building and fire wall of the garden house becomes a unifying element to both buildings.

Non-combustible cladding was not only necessary on the walls surrounding the fire escape, but also the entire facade. Therefore, in addition to the clinker brick slips, untreated (and hence 100% recyclable) corrugated

aluminum

sheeting was selected for the rest of the facade. Wood was approved for the outer wall itself, as well as balconies and windows, allowing the front and rear building to speak to each other not only via the window design, but also through the material. Colored fabric awnings complete the picture.

Three facade materials at a glance: Larch panels on the front house, aluminum on the garden house and colored clinkers on both buildings. The windows, featuring the distinctive cross grid, were installed 45cm above the ground and hence serve as possible

windows seats.

To promote a sense of community,

roof terraces

on both buildings can be accessed and used freely by all residents – and offer fantastic views. From the roof terrace on the front house, you can see all the way down Pannierstraße to the Görlitzer Park.

At the southernmost end of the property is the largest maisonette, with a wonderful, sheltered

terrace

that will become even greener as the plants get established. Visible in the background are nesting boxes for swifts.

Providing the option to combine or split the apartments at a later date came at a (ecological) cost. Because the walls on each floor are offset, timber loadbearing ceilings and walls would have been more complex and expensive to build, especially with regards to sound-insulation requirements. For this reason, a

hybrid construction

was chosen, combining a solid structure with wood-based enclosure. The solid structure can been seen in the central passage, where the exposed reinforced concrete provides the robustness necessary for the building’s most frequently used space.

The staircase in the front house

is a reduced, solid construction, without any unnecessary finishes. Reinforced concrete and unrendered sand-lime brick, painted white, characterize the look. The elevator doors bring tones from the clinkers on the facade into the house and provide splashes of color on all floors.

The building services concept

is based on an exhaust-air heat pump that generates domestic hot water from the exhaust air of the apartments and provides passive air exchange via external air vents. The system is combined with district heating and photovoltaic modules on the roof to support the operation of the heat pump.

The balconies

on the front building combine the advantages of loggia and balcony. They provide both a sheltered area protected by side walls as well as an airy space extending past the facade, through which more light can fall on the balcony.

Residents were also able to call on us for support when designing their interior spaces. Seen here is the

interior staircase

designed by IFUB* for one of the maisonettes in the garden house.

In the same maisonette,

the kitchen

was designed to match the staircase. As a healthy material for living spaces, spruce coloured with pure linseed oil paint was used for the fixtures.

IFUB* also designed a

kitchen

in the front house. For optimal use of space, the kitchenette extends around the corner from the entrance hallway and into the living area.

The bathrooms

were just as individual. Starting with a standard tile available in many different colors and formats, a multitude of designs was possible. These 10x30cm tiles in three color gradients were laid vertically.

Another

bathroom with shower

features gradients of a different color.

For this resident, 10x10cm tiles were used to create a colored niche for his

bathtub.

Other

tiles

were also available upon request. Here, gray tiles were combined with small, brightly colored niches.

The residents could also incorporate their own ideas for the bathroom layouts and fixtures. Here,

shower and bath

with matching black fixtures were combined with plain white wall tiles and a terrazzo floor.

Floor plan: ground floor

Floor plan: 1st floor

Floor plan: 3rd floor

Floor plan: 5th floor

Roof terraces

Longitudinal section

Cross section: front building

Cross section: garden house

A little fun at the very end,

Renderings vs. photo

What are the pictures before construction and what are the pictures after construction?