Bye-Bay Berlin

Graduate Architecture Design Studio

Washington University in St. Louis

Instructor: Jan Ulmer

Drawing inspiration from Berlin’s industrial past and abundant redevelopment and restoration at the urban scale, this housing project uses a structural steel frame to enclose the entire site. Within this frame are four buildings and four courtyards. The frame provides structural support for the housing units, and where the buildings end and the courtyards begin, the frame maintains a continuous enclosure, supporting balconies and walkways which circumnavigate the courtyards at all levels. In this way all residents have access from their units to two separate courtyards, providing opportunity for social interaction, views to the street, and views back toward their own unit as they navigate the elevated walkways and balconies. The courtyards are planted with trees which over time will grow amongst and entangle the structural frames. The ground floor of the project is programmed for retail and commercial space providing daycares, workspace, grocery stores, and medical clinics for the residents. The site can be accessed at the ground level from various points of entry inviting the public to enjoy the courtyards and green space at the ground level, and offering paths through the site while connecting adjacent parts of the urban matrix.