Within the context of the urban development of central Berlin the district of “Friedrichswerder” has been developed,based on the guidelines “planwerk Innenstadt” draw up by the Senate Department for Urban Development. Historic areas of urban development such as England’s noted townhouse settlements of the last two centuries have served as inspiration for the new district in Berlin.

The return to the historic urban make-up,in which traditional urban elements such as house,courtyard,block,street and square constiture the skeletal structure,formed the basis of the “Planwerk Innenstadt” guidelines.

Within the tight restrictions of a deep and narrow lot,the house achieves generosity through room height. The qualities of natural light and space are more important than the optimisation of surface area and flexibility.The location of the staircase on the facade,unusual for a townhouse,highlights the significance to the vertical aspect of the project.While from a material point of view,the facade is almost passive,the composition of vertical cuboids with glazed fronts creates depth and a sculptural quality.

The house will be used as a family home with an atelier,and attempts to transcend beyond the atmospheric constriction of the typology.

Client: Private
Gross Floor Area:541 m2
Design Architect: David Chipperfield
Project Management:BAL Bauplanungs-und Steuerungs GmbH
Stuctural Work:Conex Baugesellschaft mbH
Structural Engineer: Ingenieurgruppe Bauen
Services Engineer: Ingenieurbro Dipl.-Ing. Peter Kessler

David Chipperfield Architects
www.davidchipperfield.com

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