Güterbahnhof Köpenick
Masterplan, Conversion of a freight station, Berlin, Competition, 2022
Henning Larsen
Berlin originated in marshland, with trade supported by waterways and agriculture by nutrient-rich riverbeds. Köpenick is characterized by its strong proximity to water - lakes, rivers, biotopes, and streams. The Garden City movement aimed to combine the benefits of rural and urban life in a new, clear yet combined structure. The Garden City philosophy, particularly its closeness to nature and the idea of self-sufficiency, raises themes that we are revisiting over 100 years later. Solutions can be found in the concept of the Köpenick Landscape City, where landscape and urbanity are closely intertwined. It is distinguished by its close connection to its surroundings, its horizontal and vertical mixing, and its location amidst existing structures, on a brownfield site. The Landscape City stands for resource efficiency, upcycling, reusability, and sequestration as fundamental principles. This creates a resilient neighborhood that confronts the reality of climate change with rising temperatures, ongoing drought, heavy rainfall, and societal change, to meet the increasing demand for housing in Berlin.