Roofgarden for "Refugio Sharehouse"
Sharehaus Refugio Berlin - Refugee Community House
From summer 2015 we have been working with the Sharehouse Refugio, a house where people who have lost their homes or were forced to flee can find a new home. The Refugio is a joint project of the Sharehaus and the Berlin City Mission e.V. at Lenaustrasse 3-4 in Berlin Neukölln.
The Refugio provides refuge, community and renewal for people of differnt cultures. At the Sharehaus Refugio they encourage each other to develop unique skills and talents. A coaching program is run for helping to learning German, getting a good job or a meaningful education.Everyone in the house commits themselves to an individual program, they offer their skills and talents to the Refugio itself and the surrounding neighborhood. Refugio offers co-working and workshops and develops social enterprises and networks with likeminded initiatives.
The inhabitants live in private rooms and share communal spaces and organise their daily community life together. Together they operate an upcycling café in the foyer and a neighborhood market in the large hall. On the rooftop terrace they can organise events, celebrations, grow food, eat together or find a peaceful garden space for relaxing.
The Landscape Architecture students at the TU-Berlin have now been assigned the task of designing this rooftop space and implementing the first construction phase. The design and construction detailing will take place in close collaboration with the clients and inhabitants of the house throughout the winter semester of 2015.
Images and Plans
Technical Description
Dominant elements of the central garden area are the five polygonal raised beds, which by their orientation and shape create informal paths and spaces. The planting area focus on the north side of the roof, where a framed view point is generated. The raised beds have wooden frames that vary in width and height and from which also offer additional seating. In the beds both productive and ornamental plants will be cultivated. Since the use of higher planting for creating space is not feasible (due to wind etc.), we have developed a a system of ornamental spatial screens. They support the creation of additional sub-spaces with a high amenity value for groups or individual use. Between the raised beds a walkable extensive green roof will allow plants to grow on less frequented areas, this will allow for dynamic ornamental aspects that adjust to use. The terraces will be made of wood, the wooden boards will be secured from below so that the screws will not be visible. The central path is made of an inconspicuously metal mesh set in the gravel, this allows for a secure pathway between the stairwells. A special emphasis is placed on using the existing materials and elements. The planting concept allows for existing plants to be used in the new beds, existing funiture will also be reused furniture and reused.
Documents
