BLOCK.REFORM.BERLIN

The design and future of the European city are key issues of the present. Particularly in large cities, the search for solutions to the issue of compact living and the question of suitable large-scale and sustainable development of the built environment is omnipresent. Findings from projects that have already been realised are of great importance here: they confirm the continuing relevance of our artistic and cultural tradition for understanding the past and its further development in the future.
The BLOCK.REFORM.BERLIN project aims to document, reflect on and debate the architectural and urban cultural traditions of reform housing in the European metropolis on the basis of built projects. The field of research relates to the period 1890-1940 and the city of Berlin and deals with three central themes: the morphology of the block, the reform of urban planning and housing and the architecture of the city. By analysing these three themes, new knowledge about contemporary urban design is to be gained by examining selected examples on different scales. The research is therefore carried out using the tools of the design architect: historical and bibliographical research, analysis of urban morphology, typological classification and the tracing of case studies on a uniform scale. 
The research addresses the ongoing question of qualitative solutions for living in the city by creating liveable urban spaces and at the same time affordable, modern, safe and sustainable housing without neglecting the search for morphological diversity and at the same time creating sustainable construction. Many aspects will be addressed: a renewed focus on urban planning as an overall discipline, the debate between urban texture and architectural object, the handling of the differentiation between public and private spaces, as well as a functional and social mix. In addition, topics such as land issues and parcelling, resource optimisation, the role of housing cooperatives and associations in the creation of affordable housing and, last but not least, health (light / air / green / noise protection), the common good and services of general interest are again brought to the fore. 
Specifically, the research is intended to link the experiments of that time with today's culture of rebuilding, procedures and participation, with the strategies of redensification and urban repair, and thus identify new development perspectives for rich, diverse and qualitative housing. 
The first interim results were presented at a conference in September 2021.

Funding partner:
Carsten Sellschopf
German Building Law Day e.V.
Deutsche Wohnen SE
Hansgrohe Germany Vertriebs GmbH
Hubertus Negwer
Association of Berlin Brandenburg Housing Companies (BBU)