Author: Alexander Munk

Pricewinning designs for the Quartier am Humboldthain

Posted on by Alexander Munk

The winner of the two-stage urban planning competition for the new Berlin Quartier Am Humboldthain (QAH) has been announced, with the jury awarding first place on 12th August to a design by Danish architecture studio “Cobe”.

 

Second place went to a joint design from “Ortner & Ortner Baukunst” and “capattistaubach urbane landschaften”, with third place going to a design by “Robertneun TM GmbH” and “Atelier Loidl Landschaftsarchitekten GmbH”.

During the first stage of the competition from mid-March, 20 renowned architectural firms submitted designs to reimagine the 6.5 hectare site on Humboldthain, tasked with finding innovative urban planning solutions for the former AEG production site. Designs from eight winning offices were then developed further during the second round of the competition.”

 

From green neighbourhood park to hub

The winning design is centered around a strong landscape planning concept to create a development with rows of predominantly five- to eight-storey buildings culminating in height around a green, central park within the Quartier. This will serve as both a recreational space and the area’s “green lung”. Gustav-Meyer-Allee will be lined with predominantly lower buildings but gaining in height to mark the entrance to the Quartier, and the development’s height profile is derived from existing surrounding buildings. A central forecourt with a single tall, slender building will link the green space in the Quartier with nearby Humboldthain.

The development envisages solar-panelled roofs, as well as many green roofs including both communal and sports areas. A central reservoir with year-round water and open run-off areas are part of a sophisticated rainwater concept.

Previously closed, this neighbourhood is set to become a modern, climate-friendly urban development open to everyone, and as such will become the symbol of a city of short distances. The winning design aims to extend the existing network of paths by two east-west axes, connecting with existing buildings in the south and east beyond the competition area. The planned entrance towards Brunnenstraße will provide the neighbourhood with an extensive east-west connection and in the future the public with barrier-free access.

 

A variety of uses, new opportunities for research and production

The QAH is to become one of Berlin’s “Zukunftsorte”, or sites of future innovation, developed in an urban planning and architectural context for the city as a whole. As the largest inner-city development of its kind in Berlin, the QAH, surrounded by historic AEG buildings, offers great potential to rethink a commercial district’s wide variety of uses within a flexible structure.

The QAH will house the TU Berlin’s Wedding Campus as well as the Fraunhofer IZM, allowing an expansion of the Technology Park Humboldthain (TPH). Space will also be offered to small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses following its proposed objective to create with its urban design both a multipurpose and lively commercial quarter and, at the same time, attractive public spaces.

The “Cobe” design shows how the Quartier could be divided into four different clusters each with its own purpose – for example, an “urban city cluster” along Gustav-Meyer-Allee, a park within the Quartier as a “green oasis” linked to an “education cluster” in the east, as well as a central “creative cluster” and a “technology cluster” to the west opposite the Fraunhofer Institute. How exactly these different clusters will be arranged in the end will be developed as work on the master plan develops.

The design includes just under 235,000 m2 gross floor area in total, of which approximately 31,000 m2 will be on ground level. With a site coverage factor of 0.49, the design will cover just less than half the site. The winning design will now form the basis for development plans aimed to be finalised by 2025/26, with the Quartier in its essential urban outline expected to be completed by 2030.

TWO-STAGE URBAN PLANNING COMPETITION LAUNCHED

Posted on by Alexander Munk

The two-stage urban planning competition for the QAH has begun with the distribution of the tender documents to renowned architectural firms. The offices are now faced with the task of finding innovative urban development solutions in the direct vicinity of the AEG architecture, which is significant in terms of building and industrial history. The first stage of the urban planning competition ends with the submission of the designs mid of February 2022, at which the eight best designs will be awarded prizes. In the second stage, the detailed elaboration of the initial ideas will take place.

Start of the first stage: 22.11.2021
Submission of the designs for the first stage: 15.02.2022

The following international architectural offices are taking part:

ACME (London / Berlin) • agps architecture (Zurich/L.A.) • ASTOC (Cologne) • Caspar Schmitz Morkramer (Cologne) • Christoph Kohl Stadtplaner Architekten (Berlin) • Cityförster (Hannover) • COBE (Kopenhagen) • DMSW Architekten (Berlin) • Hadi Teherani Architects (Hamburg) • HENN (Berlin) • JSWD Architekten (Köln) • KCAP, Rotterdam • KSP ENGEL (Berlin) • LOVE Architecture (Graz) • Michels Architekturbüro (Berlin) • O+O Baukunst (Berlin) • OSA Ochs Schmidhuber Architekten (Munich) • REICHER HAASE ASSOZIIERTE (Berlin) • Robert Neun Architekten (Berlin) • Sauerbruch + Hutton (Berlin), schneider + schumacher (FFM) • Thomas Hillig Architekten (Berlin)

 

Here they are: The results of the workshop process

Posted on by Alexander Munk

In cooperation with the district of Mitte, we conducted a workshop process from June to August this year. These workshops with the participation of representatives from the district, the senate administrations (SenSW, SenWEB and SenUVK), local businesses (e.g. Frauenhofer-Institut, GSG, TU Berlin, Berliner Unterwelten etc.), neighbours and interested citizens are part of an open project development for finding ideas for future uses. Ideas, hints and comments were collected and discussed together. The aim of the process was to develop a commercially and politically accepted new neighbourhood that is designed for attractive and sustainable uses and will be in demand by users and citizens alike in the long term. This broad and early involvement of knowledge bearers and experts before the procedural steps of urban land use planning is an important concern for us.

The entire process was supported by an illustrator (graphic recorder). The resulting illustrations, which are reproduced in the report, visualise the discussions in the workshop talks, but not always their results.

The result of the workshop process consists of a result plan and a textual-conceptual appendix. In the latter, the essential contents concerning identity, unique selling points, uses and distribution of uses, urban development as well as traffic, development and public space were defined, which could be achieved as a result of the process among all participants.

Both documents can be downloaded here. For the moment they are only available in German.

The report on the results forms the basis for the urban planning ideas competition that will now follow with invited architectural firms.

We would like to thank all participants and especially the committed citizens for their constructive participation in the workshops. We found the process extremely inspiring, constructive and purposeful. We think we have taken a big step towards anchoring our project as an added value for the neighbourhood and its surroundings and look forward to the next steps together with them.

Thank you!

 

3RD EXPERT PANEL AND RESIDENTS’ DISCUSSION

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Dear Berlin residents,

It is our great pleasure to invite you to our workshop process for the Quartier am Humboldthain as part of the Third Residents’ Discussion and Expert Panel.

Our final event will take place between 14:00 and 20:00 on Wednesday 18th August 2021, during which we will present you and local participants from the Brunnenviertel with the results of the workshops so far. Before the results are combined into a consensus design, you will have the opportunity to take part in discussions on any topics that are still open as well as any of the development’s basic concepts that have not yet been discussed.

At 14:00 you will have the opportunity to take part in an exclusive tour of Germany’s first subway tunnel, guided by Mr Dietmar Arnold, President of Berliner Unterwelten e.V..

Due to the limited number of places, please register for the tour in advance by emailing kontakt@quartier-humboldthain.berlin

You will find details about the event and all of the agenda items in the attached invitation and program. Please note, it is also possible to participate in only one part of the program.

We look forward to a lively discussion, and if you are able to take part, please do RSVP by 12th August.

Many thanks.

 

3RD EXPERT PANEL / RESIDENTS’ DISCUSSION

18th AUGUST 2021
AT AMPLIFIER

IM AMPERIUM AM HUMBOLDTHAIN
GEBÄUDE 12
GUSTAV-MEYER-ALLEE 25

 

 

 

DAS PROGRAMM:

 

14:00 

Tour with Dietmar Arnold, President of Berliner Unterwelten e.V. of Germany’s first subway tunnel, which dates from 1895
Please meet in front of Amplifier for the start of the tour.

(Due to the limited number of places, please register for the tour in advance by email)

15:00*

Registration / Open House / Exhibition (with welcome drinks)

15:30

Welcome by the Mitte District Council and clarification of objectives

Presentation of the Location / Workshop Process / Results so far
Results and findings from the three previous workshops, presentation of interests, and current status of the consensus design

16:00

Forum (Part 1): Discussion / Questions / Explanations

16:30

Workshops
Exchange of ideas on any of the development’s basic concepts that have not yet been discussed

17:30

Break (with light refreshments)

18:00

Welcome by the Mitte District Council and clarification of objectives

Presentation of the Location / Workshop Process / Results So Far
Results and findings from the three previous workshops, presentation of interests, and current status of the consensus design

18:30

Forum (Part 2): Discussion with local residents, community members, and business owners

19:00

Residents’ Discussion and Workshops
Group discussions on any chosen topic

20:00

Event ends

 

 

*Please note: Participants without proof of vaccination or recovery from a Covid-19 infection are requested to take a rapid test before participating in the event. Rapid tests are available on site. The event organisers will make these available and issue certificates. The event will be conducted according to the measures required by the Ordinance on Protection against Coronavirus Infection (CoronaSchV) in the state of Berlin that are in force on the day of the event.

Brunnenviertel residents join in discussions on the QAH.

Posted on by Alexander Munk

In an exchange of ideas with local participants, business owners from around the Brunnenviertel and residents from surrounding neighborhoods during our first residents’ discussion of 29th July 2021, we looked at questions such as: What should the future Quartier am Humboldthain look like? What should it be used for? And by whom?

Mr. Scheffer from Jahn, Mack & Partner presented the results from the most recent workshops as well as any still open questions. The ideas and suggestions were grouped into themes of interest by the team of moderators, which could then be viewed by everyone and added to on site. Information about the industrial history of the Berlin site was provided through an exhibition and a short film, while District Councilor Gothe, along with representatives for both the District and Berlin Senate, spoke about opening up the development with passageways and possible links to the surrounding area and Volkspark Humboldthain.

 

We look forward to continuing the lively discussion with any further suggestions and ideas in our closing workshop on 18th August 2021. Be there!

 

Invitation to the residents discussion

Posted on by Alexander Munk

Over the next few years, a lively, urban commercial district in Humboldthain, Berlin Mitte will be constructed, covering an area of nine football pitches.

Find out more about the planned Am Humboldthain neighborhood and take part in the “Open Project Development”, in which a sustainable utilization concept will be developed together with you in moderated workshop discussions.

 

RESIDENTS DISCUSSION

29TH JULY 2021

AT AMPLIFIER

 

AT

AMPERIUM AM HUMBOLDTHAIN
BUILDING 12
GUSTAV-MEYER-ALLEE 25

 

 

 

THE PROGRAMME:

 

15:30  Check-in / Open House / Exhibition

16:00  Presentation of location and workshop procedure

16:20  Citizens’ dialogue and workshop discussions

Exchange and discussion on topics of free choice

18:00  Break   

Parallel during the break for those who have joined:

Presentation of location and workshop procedure

18:30   Greeting from the Mitte district and clarification of objectives

19:15   Citizens’ Dialogue and Workshop Talks with Building City Councilor Gothe

Exchange and discussion on topics of free choice

 

 

Open development process kicks off for the Quartier am Humboldthain

Posted on by Alexander Munk

8th June 2021, Berlin: Coros has been developing the Quartier am Humboldthain (QAH) in Berlin Mitte for nearly a year now. Yesterday, the “Open Development” process began with Büro Dr. Vogel GmbH. The district is located on Gustav-Meyer-Allee, south of Volkspark Humboldthain. The site was acquired in 2019 with its current assets. On the former Nixdorf production site, a lively commercial quarter will be created over the next few years. Both local residents and experts are being actively contacted to participate in the development process, in order to establish what should be built on the approximately 65,000 m2 plot. The Quartier am Humboldthain is one of Berlin’s biggest urban regeneration projects and currently the largest commercial development within the S-Bahn Ring. The planning period for the new district will extend over the next 3-5 years, with its essential urban development outline set for completion by 2028. The project is being managed by Quartier am Humboldthain GmbH, and news and reports on the district’s development are publicly available on quartier-humboldthain.berlin.

The Quartier Am Humboldthain is being built in one of Berlin’s eleven “Zukunftsorte”, or sites of future innovation, in the Gesundbrunnen district. For decades, the area was associated with AEG and the electrical industry and is characterised by its industrial buildings and workers’ quarters. Nowadays, the district is being transformed into a place of science, research and contemporary services. The Quartier am Humboldthain has already been designated part of the Humboldthain Technology Park (TPH). Together with institutes from the Technische Universität (TU), Berlin, the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM and various innovative companies from technology, IT and research sectors , as well as media and creative industries, science and commerce are already working closely together on this site. Construction here will allow the location and district to benefit from new and opportunities.

When it comes to what the quarter should be used for, its location offers a whole variety of possibilities . Close-by are the recreation area Volkspark Humboldthain and the historic buildings of the former AEG factory, which surround the quarter. The workshops that began yesterday will form the basis of the “Open Development” process and will determine how the site can be used in the future. A variety of commercial uses are possible here. Development of the quarter will allow the site to become an integral part of the existing public urban space, with walkways through the quarter and public access, particularly on the ground floor, being just two ways in which this can be achieved. Our goal is to create spaces for as many different users as possible.

Developed by Büro Dr. Vogel GmbH, the aim of the “Open Development” process is to achieve a broad consensus between residents and key stakeholders from politics, commerce and science by developing a workable concept of use for this special location. To achieve this, several discussion rounds with residents as well as representatives from politics, commerce and science will take place. Wishes and suggestions for the development of the quarter can be expressed during facilitated discussions. These will establish a solid basis for the development of the quarter.

 

About Coros:

Coros is a long-term oriented real estate company that aims to identify unused potential in urban areas and to create sustainable added value for a modern urban society with sustainable utilization concepts.
More about Coros at coros.de.

 

Press contact:

Camilla von Meerheimb
Head of Marketing and Communications
Tel. +49 1516 4831813
Mail presse@quartier-humboldthain.berlin

Workshops begin for the Quartier am Humboldthain

Posted on by Alexander Munk

Workshops for the development of the Quartier am Humboldthain began in June with the first session of experts. This is the first of several workshops with both expert stakeholders and residents. Over the next few months, all requirements, suggestions and desires for the quarter will be discussed and developed. Together with residents and stakeholders from the local authority, politics, commerce and science it’s our aim to develop a lively and future-forward commercial area on this site, which covers nine football pitches.