Location
The owners of plot 21 of the Mannheim allotment in the Friedrichshaller Straße,
Berlin-Wilmersdorf, found an unusual way to own a house in a green open space
which is at the same time typical of Berlin.
A young couple with two young children, who do not typify at all the
cliché of a normal allotment holder, remembered a traditional
Berlin institution to make their dream of a holiday home in the middle of Berlin come true.
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Lageplan Parzelle
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Building Structure
The canopy and the terrace paving reach out in perspective like two inviting arms.
At its ends the slightly angled glass façade can be opened over the whole width of the house -
in this way the living space and nature blend with each other. The terrace emphasises the smooth
transition: the outer world seems to be the inner world and vice versa.
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Idea
When the clients first started thinking about the project only one thing was clear:
They wanted a house in a green open space, close to the city and affordable -
a nearly illusory plan. Nevertheless, they found a way to reconcile a central location
with affordability. Through a property advertisement they became aware of a 600
square metre plot near the Mecklenburgische Straße offered by a co-operative for
allotments and homes. They acquired the plot and through the purchase became members of
a 75-year-old co-operative which has clear rules and which looks after the interests of the
whole area but without interfering in how the individual plots are maintained.
On the plot stood a small wooden hut, more of a tool shed than habitable accommodation.
Plans for the design of a house were drawn up. At the beginning, the
owners had something rather like a typical allotment in mind. They wanted to build
a sort of gingerbread house. However, during the course of the architects'
planning they shied away from this idea. At the rear third of the
long narrow plot, obscured by plants, the architects designed a building
on stilts with a large glass façade. On its stilts the holiday home gives
the impression of being mobile as if it would fit into other places and surroundings -
this seems to be an American way of seeing things.
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