Ressource Plattenbau

Sustaining Plattenbau mass housing in and around Berlin while exploring potentials for the creation of socially oriented housing by reusing the existing buildings and infrastructures. Since these prototypical buildings exist in various contexts, we worked with 3 different locations in 3 different conditions and 3 different ownerships.

During the German Democratic Republic, an enormous amount of concrete, steel and labour has been used to erect around 1,8Mio apartments in Germany. While still building these developments, they were criticized for their rigid and repetitive urban fabric causing monotony and anonymity. After the fall of the GDR regime and in a shrinking democratic context of the Eastern areas, architects like Lucien Kroll proposed radical ideas to transform these estates. Now we find ourselves in a situation of an increasing population in cities like Berlin and therefore a shortage of affordable housing. Besides the discussions about our changing climate have risen a general ecologic awareness of the necessity of preserving and reusing existing structures. \nIn the beginning of the project, we were exploring the majority of East Berlin’s Plattenbau areas by bicycle and photographing situations that interested or inspired us. During this time, we wrote down our thoughts and ideas in 12 theses. We tried to translate these thoughts and ideas into architectural principles for a sustainable transformation.\nAfter analysing Plattenbau areas in and around Berlin, we chose three sites which show the prototypical mass housing block in 3 very different contexts. We were living for one week on each site to discover the surrounding and the buildings from inside with our camera. We talked to neighbours, existent or former residents and other people we encountered there.\nEven though the existing buildings of the 3 sites are in very different contexts and the approaches are therefore specific, the goal in all cases was to keep the existing structures and create sustainable socially oriented housing through transformation, densification and revitalization of the existing. \nWe believe through simplicity in construction, efficiency in planning and reuse of existing (infra-)structures these fantastic spaces can be affordable for everyone.