Berlin Affordable
Housing Challenge

According to the jury, Roofs of Berlin is a “compelling and considerate proposal with the potential to infuse new life and character into existing buildings. It demonstrates the potential of using existing building structures in Berlin to create additional housing, and it shows a deep insight into the challenges of the specific site in question (roofs) and illustrates how the idea of self-help still can play a role despite ever increasing technical demands. It presents a unique proposal for combining a creative building design with a potentially viable associated ownership model. The flexible and adaptable expanding unit system caters to diverse family units and the potential for those families to expand or contract. The functional programming is well-considered as is the provision of some outdoor respite. The compelling visualizations present the spaces as pleasant and uncompromised by the height and scale of the proposal. Although the proposal proposes a thoughtful strategy for construction, there would be various additional complexities to building on such a large, existing, and centrally located structure and providing a safe and desirable means of circulation to and from the rooftop units would also need to be carefully considered. Additionally, there may be several complexities to managing a communally-owned property as well as mitigating the risk of such units becoming highly desirable premium penthouses over time.”

EXTRA - In the Light of Shadows addresses a ubiquitous class of post WW2 buildings which deserve a deeper consideration for the question of addressing the housing crisis in Berlin. According to the jury: “These buildings are often in urgent need for improving energy efficiency and renovation. The proposal demonstrates how this can be combined with creating additional housing and thereby combining the challenges of affordable housing with the need to improve housing stock in the fight against climate change.  The plans and visualizations demonstrate comfortable and spacious interiors and rational spatial organization that would cater to various living situations. However, it is in need of a more convincing argument as to why current residents would desire to so completely alter their homes. Challenges that may arise could be related to the complexities of modernizing and retrofitting an existing space, structure and design. Difficult to verify in terms of practicality, it is an interesting provocation nevertheless.”  

Shaking Hands proposes a building typology in the form of a long-span bridge that pairs ground level commercial shopping facilities with three or four levels of residences - a hybrid to promote urban connectivity. The choice of material is half-timbered construction, often used in Germany, in which walls are constructed of timber frames and the spaces between the structural members are filled with various other materials. The staccatoed series of sloped roofs are meant to provide surfaces for solar panels, while also establishing a dynamic urban skyline that references the human scale. According to the jury: “The building design allows its implementation in unconventional areas, without any cost to the municipality, while working at the same time as public space connectors. Considering the cost of the land in Berlin, even if these buildings become more expensive in terms of structural components, the solution remains smart and economically friendly.”