ARCH+ features 4: ifau, Jesko Fezer,
Heide & von Beckerath
ifau, Jesko Fezer and Heide & von Beckerath introduce the construction group project R50 and discuss participative and urban political aspects of communal building.
Community construction groups have long since become model projects for social urban development, not only in Berlin. They typically stand for a participatory approach to planning and utilization. One such example is community construction project R 50: The basis for the concrete floor plan work was laid following early discussion with the owners about the expectations they placed in their home; this includes dimensions, structures, spatial ratios and qualities.

Picture: Christoph Heinemann from ifau introduced the project.
Last summer, the Berlin Senate released a few of the state's own building plots at a fixed price to community construction groups. A group of aspiring home builders, architects and project developers were given the go-ahead to develop Ritterstraße 50 in Berlin-Kreuzberg (R 50). The end of 2012 will see a seven-storey residential building with 19 apartments and common rooms being completed on the site.

Picture: Jesko Fezer explains the development process. Fezer is a Guest Professor at the Academy of Visual Arts in Nuremberg on the master course in architecture, co-owner of the bookstore "Pro qm" in Berlin and publisher of the architectural magazine "An Architektur".
For the architectural community, the relationship between the construction group and its urban environment is a key issue: "In this context, the communal room on the ground floor and the three-dimensional facade are deliberately positioned threshold spaces intended to guarantee communication with the urban environment: On all seven floors containing apartments, a narrow passage around the building provides an open threshold between the inside and outside space."

Tim Heide (Heide & von Beckerath), Jesko Fezer, Christoph Schmidt and Susanne Heiß (both ifau).
Anh-Linh Ngo, editorial team ARCH+, and Christoph Heinemann in discussion.
(photos: David von Becker)
© 2020 S. Siedle & Söhne OHG
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