David Chipperfield Architects along with Wirtz International Landscape Architects win urban planning competition for the design of Georg-Knorr-Park quarter in Berlin

Following an urban planning competition, the design for the Georg-Knorr-Park quarter in Berlin by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin along with Wirtz International Landscape Architects was chosen from three competing schemes by an expert jury.

-text by the authors

Georg-Knorr-Park, a former industrial and production site in Berlin’s Marzahn district, is to be transformed into a lively residential and commercial neighbourhood. The 9-hectare site, which is characterised by an ensemble of heritage buildings surrounded by urban infrastructure and commercial industry, will encompass 152,000 square metres, including 1,400 affordable rental apartments and 90,000 square metres of office and commercial space.

A new urban structure composed of courtyard buildings and towers of differing dimensions adopts the existing orthogonal order of the neighbouring industrial complex, while integrating the listed buildings and building elements. Open arcades are positioned on the outside of the new blocks, providing structural noise protection from the urban surroundings and allowing light and air into the apartments from both sides. At the same time, the arcades provide the residents with a space to meet and commune.

Addressing the new quarter, three towers rise above the quarter. Their vertical visibility echoes the neighbouring towers in Marzahn-Hellersdorf, entering into a higher-level urban dialogue. The structure of the courtyard buildings enables the large area to be divided into smaller urban zones, creating spaces of identification. This structure establishes manageable living communities and creates a place that responds to human scale. Based on a column grid, a system consisting of three different modules allows spatial flexibility for the configuration of individual apartments and the commercial and retail spaces at ground level.

Surrounded by a protective green belt, integrating public sports and playgrounds, a comprehensive, widely diversified path system extends into the interior of the neighbourhood for pedestrians and cyclists. Due to the direct connection to public transport, the neighbourhood is almost car-free. Generous arches facilitate intuitive orientation and public uses are located along a central axis. The largest, centrally located courtyard is perceived as a town square with a childcare centre, restaurants and cafés, providing a meeting point for the neighbourhood and its visitors.

The spacious inner courtyards are designed as unsealed areas with lawn landscapes and many trees, making an essential contribution to the pleasant climate of the neighbourhood. The interaction between architecture and nature gives each courtyard its own character. With resting spots, places of activity, community gardens, playgrounds and organised meeting areas for senior citizens, natural spaces are created in which every age group feels comfortable.

The expansive green roofs, which function as a fifth façade, provide space for sport or places to meet and promise spectacular views over the city for all residents, thus representing an extended urban space, giving identity to Georg-Knorr-Park.

Facts & Credits
Competition typology  Urban Planning Competition
Organisation  Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development and Housing
Date  2019-2020
Gross floor area  250,000 m2
Client  Laborgh Investment GmbH
User  HOWOGE Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mbH

Architect  David Chipperfield Architects Berlin
Partners  David Chipperfield, Christoph Felger (Design lead), Harald Müller
Project architect  Lena Ehringhaus, Peter von Matuschka
Competition team  Wolfgang Baumeister, Leander Bulst, Janis Kaisinger, Kristin Karig, Katrin Lembke, Annalisa Massari, Philipp Müller, Franziska Rusch, Maximilian Schäfer, Kawalpreet Singh, Nadine Söll, Charlotte Spichalsky; Grafik, Visualisierung: Konrad Basan, Kerstin Bigalke, Dalia Liksaite, Ken Polster, David Wegner, Simon Wiesmaier, Ute Zscharnt
Landscape architect  Wirtz International N.V., Schoten
Story  In collaboration with Shirin Sabahi (artist), Something Fantastic: Julian Schubert, Elena Schütz
City planning  BSM mbH, Berlin
Traffic planning  LK Argus GmbH, Berlin
Acoustic consultant  Müller-BBM GmbH, Berlin

Check out, also, David Chipperfield Architects’ winning entry at the international design competition concerning the Rolex USA headquarters in New York, here!