Berlin-Britz „Living in Neumarkplan“
In close cooperation with the residents of the Berlin district of Britz, some of whom had lived there for many years, a 1950s settlement was comprehensively refurbished and modernised in order to adapt it to the changes on the housing market.
This project has been put into the archive. The project details will not be updated anymore.
Context
Source: Tina Hörmann
The residential facility was erected in 1954 in Neumarkplan in Berlin (pop. 3.38 million) -Britz with a high level of urban building quality. Corresponding to the vision of an “urban neighbourhood” at that time, the fifteen three-storey buildings with a total of 396 housing units were arranged between park-like open areas and tenants’ gardens. Since the buildings had meanwhile fallen into poor structural condition, had low equipment standards and heat insulation and also insufficient heating, and were no longer up-to-date only having 2-room flats, the number of flats standing empty increased and the old tenants gradually moved away.
Project description
Source: BauBlld Berlin
In order to preserve the peacefully located settlement with its good infrastructure and surrounding nature for the long-term and to ensure that renting the flats was possible, the DKB - Berlin-Brandenburgische Wohnungsgesellschaft mbH contracted the office “Baufrösche” in May 2001 as a general planning office with the task of creating a comprehensive renewal and conversion concept. Here, the question of cost minimisation played a key role, besides the housing economy and technical aspects, while maintaining a high architectural and urban construction quality. The mainly long-standing tenants, who in most cases only had a low income level, were to be maintained after the modernisation. At the same time, there was the intention of attracting new occupant groups, particularly young families.
With tenant involvement, the resettlement and the building process were coordinated and optimised. The building duration for one building was only 3 months. In this time, the tenants were accommodated in unoccupied flats within the housing facility – this way they remained part of the renewal process: the children did not have to change school, the neighbourhood and the social environment remained the same. Starting in Autumn 2002, one building after another was modernised and converted in accordance with the latest environmental standards. Additionally, the building technical equipment, the heat insulation in the outer walls, cellar and roof, and also the entrance areas, were modernised. Some of the small 2-room flats were put together in order to offer a broader range of housing. The window openings were enlarged and differentiated, new spacious balconies and conservatories were added. Through these marked changes to the building’s exterior and surroundings, the settlement received a new, modern face. Thanks to a planning and building process in the “building team” with a building company, it was possible to keep the costs very low at 575 euro/m2 of living space.
The open area concept led to a consistent enhancement of the areas near the flats. The combination of terraces and gardens which are accessible via the ground floor flats, with their newly arranged meeting places and play areas, allowed a modern interpretation of the idea of the “urban neighbourhood”. The parking spaces for cars were arranged such that they do not detriment the quality of the open areas.
Project chronology
Year | Event |
---|---|
May to July 2001 | Creation of the modernisation and conversion concept |
Sept. 2002 | Building start |
Dec. 2002 | Completion of the first building |
June to Aug. 2003 | Modernisation of the second building |
Aims
Source: BauBlld Berlin
- Long-term preservation of the possibility to rent a housing settlement from the 1950s
- Adaptation to the housing market through improvement of the housing mix
- Low-cost and high-quality constructional and energy-effective refurbishment and modernisation while giving considerable consideration to the needs of the residents
- Improvement of the accessibility and usability of the outdoor facilities
Types of measures
Source: BauBlld Berlin
- Reduction of the costs and stress thanks to minimised building time and optimal cooperation
- Tenant-friendly relocation to temporary housing
- Renewal of housing technical equipment, heating, heat insulation (low energy standard), roof, facades and windows
New arrangement of the open areas
Recognition in the house builders’ prize 2003 "Hohe Qualität - tragbare Kosten“ ("High Quality – Affordable Costs“)
Innovations
Source: BauBlld Berlin
This project shows the fundamental and also socially responsible and low-cost conversion of a typical housing settlement of the 1950s. With involvement and consideration of the remaining tenants, the building structure and range of housing were adapted to the technical standards of the market. This way, it was possible to preserve the high urban constructional quality of the housing facility for the long-term.
Sources
- Baufrösche, Architekten und Stadtplaner GmbH (without year): Wohnen am Neumarkplan. Kurzdokumentation (Living in Neumarkplan. Short documentation). Berlin
Further information
The projekt site ist to be found at postal code: 12349 - town: Berlin - street: Neumarkplan 5.
Poject site on Google-Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/dMHgawL7W4F2
Last update: 07.02.2018