Berlin Study Tour 2017 - Ben Wayles

berlin study tour 2017

interpretation

berlin contents /

material combinations /

brandenburg gate /

/ /

memorial to the murdered jews memorial to the sinti and roma victims / /

/

/

sony centre

un-named play park /

invaliden park

/

charlottenburg

/ /

tiergarten

tilla durieux park /

gleisdreieck park hans-baluschek park

natur-park sßdgelände /

/

reichstag

berlin wall memorial

park am nordbahnhof & mount mitte /

iga berlin 2017 /

miscellaneous

material combinations

whilst in berlin i decided to focus less on the major structures of the city, instead looking at the finer details & combinations that make interesting transitions. it’s easy to find a picture of the reichstag or brandenburg, but i found i could interpret my own stories from the details around. these first few pages are just simple combinations of materials or textures from around the city

material combinations

metal embedded as edging & permeable structure

material combinations

drainage & edging with small stone as finishing touch

material combinations

solid lines & adaptable vegetation

material combinations

considered details & colour palettes

brandenburg gate

viewing its components instead of the scale, visual interpretations can be made

brandenburg gate

roads show the walls original path, old paving makes way for new elements

patchwork columns, construction & repair visible

brandenburg gate stands where it always has, after repairs, separation people can visit & gauge their own feeling of its importance. the mixture of materials & scale make it an imposing memorial, the mixture of walking tours, pretzel salesmen & a busy road distracted me as i observed the actions around it. the detailed repairs were my first taste historic embrace instead of hiding, visible all around the city of berlin

brandenburg gate

reichstag

the ruin value of the reichstag has been fully tested, renovated to give public access & a point of assemblage

reichstag

people congregating in the building shadow, minimal planting expected to be heavily used

reichstag

the reichstag lawn after the war became an improvised farm land to sustain post war berlin. now an open plot with room for people to stand back & admire the building, the worn grass shows the the extent off foot traffic. minimal linear planting gives a loose reference to when it was a plowed field & aiding overall visibility. the regeneration leaves space for contemplation & even fun as the boy writes his name in the sand

memorial to the murdered jews

memorial to the murdered jews

consistent towering blocks with varied heights, alter light & sound within the space

memorial to the murdered jews

the consistency of width & depth of blocks is offset by the height & block colours. as with brandenburg at a glance the structure is imposing as you walk the undulating paths between the tower, but as you approach the cracks & bubbles can be seen in the structures. when looking up from the bottom of a block you get a sense of being overwhelmed & trapped, until you walk a little further & get a glimpse of tree lined paths ahead. this is a very thought provoking structure, with a strong use of changing scale & lighting

memorial to the sinti and roma victims

enclosed in trees & glass, moving water & light footsteps were consistent

memorial to the sinti and roma victims

combinations of hard, soft & liquid overlapping

memorial to the sinti and roma victims a memorial within the tiergarten for the sinti & roma of europe killed by the nazis. the site was surrounded by yew & ivy like the design we did for ls2b. it creates enclosure in the space with glass panelling displaying a timeline of events through-out the war. as debris drops in the shallow pool it creates light ripples across the grey base creating ever changing patterns. the paving slowly dissipating creates another pattern with contrasting colour it draws you into the pool

tiergarten

varying trees all of substantial size, simple pits allowing permeability

tiergarten we only spent a short time in the tiergarten walking through to the varying sites, the boulevards were lined with tourists & performers giving it a sense of life. the paths were the same setts used in a lot of berlins paving, but with well worn dirt & shrubs over lapping it. similar to the reichstag large areas of grass & planting have been worn away due to numerous people walking across it, attention to this is mostly averted to the towering trees. tiergarten seems a site with personal spots of interest. i liked the light grafitti on this peeling paint of the bin, which resembles a soldier in motion

tilla durieux park

inconsistent maintenance causing exposure

tilla durieux park

seesaws no longer in use, scratches show they have found new function for skaters

tilla durieux park

tilla had a strong concept for the design, but the site has been let down by it’s lack of maintenance. this can be seen as a government issue, but is also equally part to its complex design. the two axis’s twist until they meet in the middle showing the two sides of berlin coming together, the seesaws showing the balance that is dictated by people. even the seesaws are now non functional as the space has been left somewhat baron. overall functionality has fallen victim to a implicit idea

sony center

towering & imposing structures, nature taking advantage of design & chance

sony center

the sony center felt a strange mix of inside & out. there were numerous birds flying around, but a speaker playing fake bird sounds. the space was heavily trafficked with the mix of retail & restaurants, with also a small play park inside. the construction & detailing of the project was very high standard, especially elements like the inset lighting in the paving

un-named play park

simple combinations, spaces with intended use

un-named play park

small communal park a short walk from the hostel, but we found it had a lot of well thought out elements. the seating which wrapped around the tree giving inward looking privacy & shelter, outward looking it creates an engaging seat with views all around the park. behind the tree is a small pile of compost where the horse chestnut seeds were dropping & sprouting, a simple yet effective way to produce plants for around the area. the surrounding planting, birches & colour of the park managed to mask the train using a similar colour palette. overall it felt a very safe & well used park.

invaliden park

consistent structure, water gives reflection

invaliden park

invaliden divided opinions, some thought it was simple a space for contemplation, others saw it lacking function & an engaging layout. i was somewhere in between, the water travelling back & forth up this massive structure jutting out of the landscape creates noise, movement & a sense of intrigue. stepping away from the structure into the wider park the intrigue diminishes. it seems as if the structure was the major element & compromises were made elsewhere with the linear paving stopping as the park turns into grass & two expanses of planting.

charlottenburg

formal precise elements, mixed with natural uncontrolled spaces

charlottenburg

parterre precision lost through growth, parades of power make way for parades of arrogance.

charlottenburg

the age & constraints of maintenance are beginning to show. rocks and planting out of place, peeling paint, the formal parterres & garden didn’t have a great impact on me. seeing through the formal into the the wild wooded area did. hosting massive varieties of animals & plants as well as natural structure. twisted ancient trees & hollowed stumps reference past giants. every inch of useable land seems to have been adapted & built upon by the gardens ecology

gleisdreieck park

reference to industrial past in type, loose rubble creating new planting opportunities

gleisdreieck park

design prioritising existing planting, loose in fill to create changing transitions

gleisdreieck park

a space for movement, play & learning

gleisdreieck park

elements marked with human expression, slowly being absorbed back into nature

gleisdreieck park

like many sites in manchester, gleisdreieck was a industrial hub that became vacant due to expansion & advancements. the park uses a simple material palette to enhance the existing elements & to encourage imaginative use, such as the children’s play park with nothing more than boulders & wood. the sites visible dereliction & openness gave the act of exploring it an exciting quality, as if we had broken into the abandoned site. the way paths, elements & trees are arranged leaves an open quality even in dense areas, people are visible so you do not feel unsafe. the space has many functions that are suggested & even more that are possible through imaginative thinking. i think this is a very strong park design, but an equally strong communal design. the surrounding areas have been considered in the design & their ownership & use of the space shows that.

hans-baluschek park

trees inline with old industrial elements, multiple routes through the site

hans-baluschek park

varying shrubs give the grass texture, well worn paths snaking away from the linear path

hans-baluschek park

a very simple park consisting of a straight path with grass & planting either side. every so often the path breaks for a large tree or the large platform areas all of equal size, with nine pines before it & a flat area with different functions. four in total they create both private areas & stages for activity. i was drawn to the simplicity of this park watching people cycle the path, inspecting ancient trees with ruderal vegetation creeping around there feet, identifying the possible functions of the platforms & seeing people make use of the space in their own way. it feels like a space that people would be comfortable to use

natur-park sßdgelände

channeled views encouraging exploration

natur-park sßdgelände

remnants of past use, visible at all scales

natur-park sßdgelände

nature unrestrained taking ownership

natur-park sßdgelände

of all the places we visited i found that sudgelande inspired me the most. the way existing elements have been adapted to enhance them & draw you in presents an incredible design with minimal intervention, but no detail over looked. the way the path floats on steel cylinders representing the old train carriages & the mesh used for the platform allowing permeability & small windows into the vegetation, provides a consistent solution to the movement through the site. looking out across the landscape you forgot you were in the city, wandering again though an abandoned site with the excitement & suspense of what could be found. it seems as you walk the site people will be creating their own imagery of what will next appear. this design nails simplicity with functionality, light elements that open an existing space to a whole new world of interest instead of being further forgotten

berlin wall memorial

retained features, suggested movement with materials

berlin wall memorial

wall shows scars of people aggression

berlin wall memorial

again i think the berlin wall memorial site is a good bit of considered design. the structure left to crumble without being glorified, the steel bars in place of the wall encourage movement & viewing through them. vines wrap the stacked sections of wall & the expanse of open land gives you the sense of the previous no mans land. it is a very thought provoking place, with strong memories & visuals

park am nordbahnhof & mount mitte

basic materials & textures

park am nordbahnhof & mount mitte

slabs as improvised path, small rubble breaking up grass

park am nordbahnhof & mount mitte

nordbahnhof fully embraced the abandoned aesthetic with spontaneous vegetation. small rocks & shrubs littered the grass making for an almost interactive field. the concrete slabs dictated designed walkways, but areas of trees had signs of paths from people entering to explore. mount mitte stands next to the site embracing the idea of re-using elements. both elements working alongside each other

iga berlin 2017

iga berlin 2017

massive infrastructure & re-development work

iga berlin 2017

gardens of the world displaying international designs

iga berlin 2017 the iga was an interesting mix of small scale designs from around the world, large scale re-development pieces & new technologies to aid in developing situations. the gardens of the world held many interesting designs & gave me a view on what could be achieved with a varying material palette & climate differences. from the gondola or viewing platform the scale of the site as well as berlin can be seen. we spent the whole day exploring, but still left a lot un-seen it would be great to go back in the changing seasons & view it in another stage of growth

miscellaneous

collections of visually interesting photographs

miscellaneous

miscellaneous

overall the trip to berlin was invaluable. getting to see how design was implemented here & reading the landscapes in my own way has given me many potential ideas. it feels there are lot of concepts that we can implement in designs around england & a quality in finish that we should strive for