Collective Courtyards

The challenge of this project is to transform the two courtyards of the former industrial complex located in the Schinkestr. in the dense district of Kreuzberg Berlin, respectively, in an entrance facing and connecting the courtyard with the street and in a collective garden, for the innermost courtyard.
The two spaces consisted of impermeable paved surfaces, with scarce vegetation and still having the dusty aesthetic of a former industrial complex.
A large compartment wall on one side – by which the space is contained – covered with vine and the brick facade were the only two elements which gave the space an unexpressed potential.
The project unfolded the potential of the courtyards as places to layover and transformed those paved courtyards into a green oasis, offering a green pause.
The paved area has been significantly reduced in both courtyards to provide as much space as possible for vegetation, while maintaining functional and easy access to the housings.
The first courtyard welcomes residents with necessary facilities such as parking spaces, bike racks and a garbage shack.
The second courtyard, connected to the first through a sheltered corridor through the building, becomes a garden, offering mobile sitting elements within the organic form of the new vegetation in a sort of rational labyrinth of hidden spots within the beauty of lush greenery. The sparse vegetation found on the site is integrated in the new design.