Residential building, Berlin | Germany
Vandaag, 00:00
Project: Residential building, Berlin // Germany
Architect: Blumers Architekten Generalplanung und Baumanagement GmbH, Berlin // Germany
Fabricator + Installer: Henke AG Dächer und Fassaden, Hagen // Germany
Façade system: Riveted weather boarding
Year of construction: 2021
Product: ALUCOBOND® A2 Sunrise Silver Metallic + solid Anthracite + special colour Red + Grey
Photos: Blumers Architekten / Till Budde
DENSITY AND SPACE
It is not always necessary to move house in order to be happier with your own ‘four’ walls and your neighbourhood – and creating attractive living spaces rarely requires demolition and rebuilding. In any case, this was never part of the plan for Johannisthaler Chaussee 360 and 372 in the south of Berlin. Built in the 1960s in the first construction phase of Gropiusstadt, the two residential towers underwent a comprehensive modernisation. Newly created loggias and extensions have even improved indoor living and increased the space in some of the flats. In the same way as surrounding regeneration projects by Blumers Architekten, the façade was enveloped in a new silver-grey building cladding. ALUCOBOND® A2 non-combustible composite panels have been installed using a rear-ventilated curtain-wall system: the predominant base colour is Sunrise Silver Metallic, complemented by Anthracite Grey for recessed elements such as window reveals. Two special colours alternate casually to frame and add emphasis to individual window openings: red (S3560-R) from the NCS colour system and light grey (RAL 0006000). from RAL Design The result is a vibrant, contemporary look.
Represented by Deutsche Wohnen, the building contractor is none other than GEHAG GmbH, the company regarded as the founder of the Gropiusstadt development, named after Walter Gropius. However, in the end, only a fraction of the original plans drawn up by the architect were ever executed. The housing estate, modelled on the modern urban planning precepts in the Athens Charter, began to be regarded as a socially deprived and troubled area from the 1980s onwards. Urban living is undoubtedly enriched by daylight, fresh air, greenery and open spaces. However, the strict separation between living spaces, work places and shopping, as well as the density and uniformity of the development which is set in extensive open spaces proved to be disadvantages and fostered anonymity. A regeneration programme is now being carried out in the district, and the process of urban densification has been ongoing since 2014. People who still live on upper storeys can really enjoy something those lower down cannot see: a magnificent view, the sky over Berlin, both at sunrise and sunset. And depending on where the flat is positioned in Johannisthaler Chaussee 360 or 372, there is an added extra: Anyone looking out of the window can also see their own building’s façade – even if it is actually its counterpart on the twin tower opposite.