Box18 Housing & Factory Refurbishment
BOX18 Former Factory &
Berliner Housing
Refurbishment
BERLINER BLOC Refurbishment
Location: Berlin
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Client: Friedrichshofe GmbH
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Dates:
2015-2020 Part 1 -
2021-2023 Part 2 (roof extension)
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Team:
LP1-5: Fourrichon Architecture
LP5-8: Probau GmbH
Tragswerkplanung: Jockwer
Brandschutz: Jastram
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Credits:
Photo ©Luca Girardini
Graphic design Giulia Herman
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Team:
LP1-5: Fourrichon Architecture
LP5-8: Probau GmbH
Tragswerkplanung: Jockwer
Brandschutz: Jastram
-
Credits:
Photo ©Luca Girardini
Graphic design Giulia Herman
After the wall fall...
After the wall fall, the underground level of this factory building becomes un-useable since the states pump factory have been dismantled. To reactivate the used of the underground level, a water-proof Steel-Concrete slab have been implement in order to host new rooms. Additionally, the basement under the courtyard allowed to create wider pilar free structure in which today the theatre room is hosted. Formerly spread through the building and squeeze in reduce floor height for performance, the Theatre have been relocated with all its facilities to the underground, moving the repetition room of the theatre school beside in order to create a full functioning Theatre.
Inspire by the existing substance… Our aim is to formulate a simulating environment, where old and new co-exist. Our definition of “renovation” is to bring new life in a harmonic balance, connecting the past, present and the future together. - (Final outcome) A Harmonic small village where people know each other, meeting point in the outside space (courtyard) – The whole plots have been reorganized, space redefined, older tenants mixed with new tenants, cultural mixed with new economy. We leave as much as we could trace of the existing and past building structure. To conclude, the time and many thing have change on the site, but I think the equilibrium between old, new ( tenants, activities, materials, buildings structure ) have been reused. We took particularly effort to use good standard long lasting material...
THEATER
The challenge on the site was that many tenants have their activities and would be able to continue working during building site. The first step was to relocated and rationalize the space and relocated the activity in a way that make sense in the functionality – Commercial office loft in the upper floor of the ex- Factory building, the schools, musics studios and the Theater, the so called cultural function in the underground and ground-floor in the direct floor connection and with access to courtyard as extension space for those activities in the full respect of the other tenants (distance). Finally the flux of people get regulated for the whole-being of the entire block users. The apartment in the front buildings ( Vorderhaus, Seitenflügel& Quergebäude) have be full refurbished. The courtyard finally reorganize offering large amount of bike standers. (A future stage of the Project would be the roofs extentions – maybe not good to published such argument).
The building complex in the Boxhagener Str. 18 is a typical Berlin plot development over the year at the turning year in 1900. In this speculative period, the plot have been well densified until the last corner of the plot. The complex is composed by a city house at street side extended around the first courtyard with side buildings (Seintenflügel, Quergebäude or Hinterhaus) furhtermore until the deepest end of the plot a T-Shape massive fabric building has been developed creating a suites of courtyards – four in total – all settled and fully connected in underground. The courtyards host today new functions, the particularity is that the commercial and cultural functions are in the back end of the plot, and the living area on the street side – revers. So part of the task was to create attractive space for new commercial tenants, particularly appreciate for start-up and creative district, keep the cultural activities already on the spot, allowing a good district cohesion and a quite living in Friedrichshain district – without to much disturbance from the block back activities (Day& Night)
