FONTANE HAUS
Berlin, Germany | 9100 m² | 2014
Taking the cultural center of Märkisches Viertel—a once visionary urban development concept from the 1960s that has now aged—as its starting point, the recently renovated Fontane-Haus establishes the black-and-white color palette for the surrounding public realm. The existing forecourt, paved in black natural stone, sets the buildings against a unified black material backdrop. At the intersections of pathways and axes, new square inlays and adaptations of the existing pattern establish a cohesive network. The entire paving surface is black, while built-in elements and material inserts are white. As an echo of the past, newly planted ginkgo trees recall the original Fontane-Haus through their golden-yellow autumn foliage. At the heart of the redesigned space, 45 white concrete modules are arranged in the grid of the existing forecourt to form the X-Bank. They establish the Fontane-Haus as a destination within Märkisches Viertel and serve as the most visible symbol of the many transformations taking place in the surrounding area.
ARCHITECTURE: Nemesis Aesthetics, Kassel | CONSTRUCTOR: Bezirksamt Berlin Reinickendorf | PHOTOGRAPHY: © Hanns Joosten
