CITY EXTENSION FOR SCHÖNEFELD BERLIN
THE INTERWOVEN CITY
Schönefeld-Nord is now one of the larger open spaces with a direct connection to the Berlin city area. The area is also associated with the memory of the Berlin Wall, which is an element worth preserving and a green corridor at the transition between Berlin and Schönefeld.
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However, most of the site is inaccessible and used monofunctional, so the former natural qualities have either disappeared, become inaccessible or have been converted into industrially used arable land. We propose instead of continuing the clear linear boundary between city and nature, as recent development west of the site has done. We interweave the new urban development with the surrounding open space. We achieve this by letting the urban structure meander: continuous meeting spaces are created between city and nature, and so all new building sites can be aligned directly with the landscape. The Interwoven City is a strategy that combines urbanity, landscape, and green and blue networks to create a new kind of city.
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1. Green networks embed the new district in the landscape. The city becomes „green“ in a broader sense through the close connection with the open space. The green nets develop from the existing and new „green fingers“ as well as a smaller structure of green pockets.
2. The city is laid out in bands that maximise the new neighbourhoods‘ contact with the surrounding greenery and define Peninsulas.
3. The water system meanders through the urban ribbons, connecting the two while creating new and exciting qualities.
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The meandering green-blue structure divides the new district into a series of urban peninsulas that are closely surrounded by nature. The Urban Peninsulas are connected to the newly built east-west road, the historic village to the southwest and the commenced/existing development to the west. Within each urban peninsula, the central green fingers, the parks, become new common areas with shared facilities and gardens for collective life. In this way, the new Peninsulas create a social connection to the organisation of the historic village of 1800 Schönefeld.
We suggest looking back to go forward and reuniting the city with nature to grow, learn and live locally again in healthy ecological cycles.
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However, most of the site is inaccessible and used monofunctional, so the former natural qualities have either disappeared, become inaccessible or have been converted into industrially used arable land. We propose instead of continuing the clear linear boundary between city and nature, as recent development west of the site has done. We interweave the new urban development with the surrounding open space. We achieve this by letting the urban structure meander: continuous meeting spaces are created between city and nature, and so all new building sites can be aligned directly with the landscape. The Interwoven City is a strategy that combines urbanity, landscape, and green and blue networks to create a new kind of city.
1. Green networks embed the new district in the landscape. The city becomes „green“ in a broader sense through the close connection with the open space. The green nets develop from the existing and new „green fingers“ as well as a smaller structure of green pockets.
2. The city is laid out in bands that maximise the new neighbourhoods‘ contact with the surrounding greenery and define Peninsulas.
3. The water system meanders through the urban ribbons, connecting the two while creating new and exciting qualities.
The meandering green-blue structure divides the new district into a series of urban peninsulas that are closely surrounded by nature. The Urban Peninsulas are connected to the newly built east-west road, the historic village to the southwest and the commenced/existing development to the west. Within each urban peninsula, the central green fingers, the parks, become new common areas with shared facilities and gardens for collective life. In this way, the new Peninsulas create a social connection to the organisation of the historic village of 1800 Schönefeld.
We suggest looking back to go forward and reuniting the city with nature to grow, learn and live locally again in healthy ecological cycles.
Place Schönefeld, Brandenburg DE
Date 2022-2023
Type Competition 2nd Round
Client Gemeinde Schönefeld
Team/credits Karres en Brands
Date 2022-2023
Type Competition 2nd Round
Client Gemeinde Schönefeld
Team/credits Karres en Brands