art house. 500 + 1. Berlin Beyond the Wall
The idea of the project is an effect of the
research about Berlin, The Berlin Wall and a role of
artistic comunity in the history of the city. 500+1 is
not only a building, but rather a manifesto, based on
the symbolism and squat culture.
While designing a building I wanted it to be like pure
canvas, which would eventualy change together with
its residents. Because of that I decided to create a
base, which would give residents a possibility of
realising and transforming different scenarios.
Building itself is organised on the 3x3m module,
which allowed me to create a flexible space, divided
into three main functional areas.
First of it is a green space - a meadow - which became
a path to the building. Main reason why I decided to
create it was the fact, that I wanted to save as much of
the trees and green spaces as possible, creating at the
same time a perfect space for meetings or events.
Moreover, because of the close location of the city
railway station, bars and restaurants, by freeing the
ground floor, new walking and cycling paths has been
created. The only architectural element here are
white pillars, that support the construction and,
together whith designed birch grove, which is a symbol of fighting against regim, give users a feeling
of being in the forest. Those elements also lead users
to the main staircase which is the entrance to the
building. Here emergency staircases and elevators
were also organised.
Second functional area, localised at the level +6m is
the openspace, services area, which contains gallery,
cafeteria, workshops and indoor market, with
specially designed furniture. At this level users have a
perfect view at the surroundings, through glass
facades, which – together with skylights – provide a
needed amount of daylight.
Last and third functional space is designed for
residents only, localised above the ground, in order to
secure private community space and avoid traffic
noise. However it is not a typical living area, because
there are no regular apartments. Instead of that users
can use 3x3m modules - each with an access to the
bathroom - where one module is provided for one
person and can be organised in unlimited variations.
What is more every single living module has access to
small indoor patio, which provides daylight. Spaces
such as kitchen, living room, etc. have been designed
as common spaces, through which users have to walk whenever, they go to their module.
Another non-typical thing about this space is the fact
that each module has four frames/ doors that allow
people to access it – together 500 doors in the
building. The inspiration was the strong squat culture
that occurs in Berlin, which is based on creating a
community. In 500+1 we have the same situaton –
user can have his/hers own space, which within
seconds can be extended by connecting modules
together. What is more, each module can be occupied
for 1 day, week, month or year – it only depends on
the needs of the users. Doors have also another
nature – they symbolise the Berlin Wall, but instead of
dividing people, they allow them to connect with each
other, to connect through art and space.
500+1 indeed should be seen as a base for residents,
a place where anything can be created and transformed
according to their needs, letting people decide
how they want to live, without any interruption.
