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Article from issue 3/2002 »Konzept Housing«

Linked Courtyard Housing in Berlin

Drafts
Detail sketches of casement and sliding door 1:5
Ground floor/Upper floor 1:500
Horizontal section through external corner of wood-clad facade 1:5
Section 1:20
Section 1:500
Sections/Elevations 1:50
Vertical section through lintel over window in engineering-brick facade 1:10
West elevation 1:500

This housing scheme in Zehlendorf, Berlin, shows how the use of waste land can provide unexpected areas for development and stimulate new planning approaches. Three units with large garden courtyards have been grouped together here to form an economical and space-saving chain of buildings. The optimum solution proved to be a housing type with a two-storey main tract and a single-storey wing. Thishigh-density, yet introverted form of development provides a great degree ofprivacy and flexibility. The units can be freely divided up and used forresidential or office purposes, as studios or workshops. Internally, theopen plans and high rooms are tokens of thespacious quality of thescheme, which was nevertheless realized relatively economically. Amongthe factors contributing to this were thereasonable price of thesite, the clarity of theconcept, a concentration on simple volumes and materials, and the precise planning and execution of the work.