Apartment House in Berlin by Scharabi Architekten

Sustainable building techniques, social cohesion and a great degree of comfort come together at Holzhaus Linse [Engl.: Linse wooden house] in Berlin’s Schöneberg district. This creative living concept is a test for the metropolitan lifestyles of the future. 

The new multistorey apartment block is located on busy Sachsendamm in the southwest of the city. It was created as part of an urban development project. The area known as the Schöneberger Linse describes the neighbourhood between the Südkreuz railway station and the Schöneberg station for commuter trains. A new urban quarter is slated to arise here by 2025. 

A social living program

The living program encompasses 18 residential units including a cluster apartment, a youth centre and several communal areas. The cluster apartment comprises four individual flats that share a large space with a balcony. It is reserved for women over 50. The ground floor is home to the youth centre. 

Wood construction

The construction is based on solid-wood techniques with load-bearing facades of cross-laminated timber. Hollow wooden elements form the floors. The wooden components on the walls and ceilings have untreated surfaces; the wood remains exposed. The facade facing the road is covered with fibre-cement plates; towards the yard it is clad with larchwood. 

Sustainability

The commitment to sustainability is discernible in the choice of carbon-sequestering wooden building materials. A ventilation system with heat recovery minimizes the need for heating. Any additional requirements are met by the heat generated by a brine/water heat pump and a micro-cogeneration unit. 

Community-oriented living

The architecture supports communal living. The ground-floor multipurpose space, which faces the yard, the basement workshop and the yoga studio offer space for leisure activities. A wheelchair-accessible shower and toilet enable everyone in the apartment community to access these areas. Holzhaus Linse is as much an ecological example as a social model of future-oriented, inclusive metropolitan living.