A building cooperative acquired a plot of land in the east of the capital on the busy Landsberger Allee. In 2020, the building was handed over to the owners. They named it "Walden 48" because the new building is intended to be an example of sustainable construction. The name can be quickly explained by taking a look at the lexicon of world literature. The American writer Henry David Thoreau had retreated to a small, secluded lake and lived there as a hermit for two years to experience life in and with nature. His book about this experience is called "Walden". The working group of Berlin architects Scharabi and Anne Raupach jointly developed the concept for the wooden building and brought in the wood specialist Rubner from Austria. Thanks to the timber construction method, the above-ground shell was completed in just 31 weeks. Apart from the Landsberger Allee traffic artery, the residential building is almost surrounded by greenery. In front is the Volkspark Friedrichshain, behind it the smaller St. Georgen-Parochial-Friedhof cemetery – the building site is located on the site of the former cemetery nursery. The districts of Prenzlauer Berg and Kreuzberg are within easy reach by public transport. On the street side, the two-storey base recedes behind the historic cemetery wall, while the residential block with its slate façade seems to float above it. With its six storeys and a length of 60 metres, the residential building is now one of the largest solid wood buildings in Berlin, with 43 condominiums ranging from 55 to 165 square metres and a comfortable ceiling height of approximately 2.80 metres. Only the stairwells and the basement are made of reinforced concrete. Heat is supplied by geothermal heat pumps. At the front, the building is shielded from the street by cladding made of grey-green slate slabs. The double-shell timber panel wall absorbs traffic noise. Some of the irregularly arranged windows are designed like boxes with a slightly protruding frame that widens on the inside to form a deep wooden reveal with a seating niche. The south-facing rear offers views of the greenery. It is almost completely glazed with floor-to-ceiling windows. Each flat has a spacious loggia – from 14 m² and larger. There are communal areas on the ground floor and a roof terrace for all residents. At the residents' request, a bicycle parking facility has been provided in the basement.

www.anneraupach.com
www.scharabi.de

Photography Credits:

Jan Bitter
www.janbitter.de

(Published in CUBE Berlin 01|22)