DESIGN STUDIO, SS 2016
Prof. Dr. Philipp Misselwitz, Nina Pawlicki, Hannes Langguth

Arrival City: Berlin Buch

More than 80.000 refugees officially arrived in Berlin in 2015 with more to come this year. The city's slow and uncoordinated response to this unexpected influx has been the subject of intense debates and critiques.

Yet the real challenge is still laying ahead: Fast-track techno-managerial (emergency) solutions will not suffice in the long-term and risk ghettoization and conflict. How can refugees, currently housed in emergency settings (Erstunterkünfte) be absorbed into urban districts? What new housing typologies and infrastructures will be required? How can integration work to the advantage of both, new and old Berliners?

The north-eastern district of Berlin-Buch is a laboratory and testing ground for innovative approaches to refugee integration. Following the construction of a container village for refugees in 2015, two more are set to follow this year. The area – one of Berlin's designated "transformation zones" (STEK 2030) was already earmarked for major population growth prior to the refugee crisis. To prepare the district for growth, improve local infrastructure and public spaces as well as to address social challenges Berlin launched a 'Integriertes Stadtentwicklungskonzept (ISEK)' with EU and national funding.

Through the partnership and support of the ISEK, the studio "Arrival City: Berlin-Buch" will bring together key actors involved in Buch´s future: residents groups, local institutions, district planners and refugees. We will develop design proposals for innovative housing solutions, local educational and cultural infrastructure and public space that discover and build on the potentials of refugees as new urban actors, actively engaged in co-producing a more inclusive and socially sustainable neighborhood.

The studio is accompanied by various external guest inputs and site visits, an integrated PIV is offered by the chairs Gebäudetechnik und Entwerfen and the Hermann Ritschel Institut.