Urban Residence on Schinkelplatz, Berlin

Green Brooch

Konzept

Precisely placed architecture forms spaces. Close to the statue of Karl Friedrich Schinkel are some of his most important works, such as the Schlossbrücke (Palace Bridge), the Neue Wache (New Guardhouse), the Friedrichswerder Church, and the Bauakademie (Building Academy). The inner courtyard and surrounding context of the new “Schinkelplatz” buildings make direct reference to these works and to the Berlin City Palace. The four caryatids at the base of the statue symbolise history and Schinkel’s fields of activity: architecture, painting and sculpture. His thinking was holistic.

The inner courtyard of the new buildings is dominated by a landscaped centre, surrounded by hedges, as a “green brooch” with picturesque trees (sophora) along with edging and steps of green granite. The carpet-like paving is laid out as a chequerboard of white and beige granite inspired by Schinkel’s motifs. A peripheral decorative band accentuates the carpet motif, while smaller-scale decorative bands provide an additional visual border to delimit the terraces. Large, bronze-coloured planters politely demarcate between private and semi-public areas.

The historical significance of the site is underscored by a quotation from Schinkel on a water object, the sky mirror, which is the focal point of views from Prinzengasse: “Fine art also has a moral repercussion; the freedom of perception in general, represented by certain images in the field of the purely beautiful, excludes everything egoistic; the artist’s endeavour is that all should share in enjoyment to the highest degree.”