{"id":3714,"date":"2018-05-19T01:57:21","date_gmt":"2018-05-18T15:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.architecture.com.au\/duluxstudytourblog\/?p=3714"},"modified":"2018-05-19T01:57:21","modified_gmt":"2018-05-18T15:57:21","slug":"berlin-day-1-soft-suggestions-not-large-scale-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.architecture.com.au\/duluxstudytourblog\/berlin-day-1-soft-suggestions-not-large-scale-drama\/","title":{"rendered":"Berlin Day 1: Soft suggestions, not large-scale drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

On our first day in Berlin, we could not help but compare everything to our experiences in London. It\u2019s beneficial for the group to have a singular reference point, as we are all from different places and backgrounds. This has been the aspect of the trip that I have enjoyed the most. Alison, our energetic Dulux host, has provided some cracking questions. She is quick to form a \u201cnormal human\u201d (as one architect at AL_A described people who weren\u2019t architects) response that is refreshing and allows the architects to justify our own thoughts. We now always seek the \u201cnormal human\u201d response from both Alison and Mai, our insightful host from the Australian Institute of Architects. I love having this perspective on tour and our trip would be lacking without it.<\/p>\n

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On site at a Deadline project<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So back to Berlin. <\/strong><\/p>\n

An appropriate start to our transition from London to Berlin was at David Chipperfield\u2019s office, an English practice with a Berlin studio. Many of our office tours have been presented by an Australian architect from the practice, usually for communication reasons (very considerate). At Chipperfield\u2019s, our guide was Andrew, an architect who is originally from Sydney. Much like the larger English practices we visited, the office was more like a slick village than a workplace. Similar to an up-scaled version of the Tin House by Henning Stummel Architects in London, the entry is through a gatehouse and this leads to a vibrant courtyard space. Above the gateway is David Chipperfield\u2019s own apartment for when he visits the office from London. The group was impressed by the courtyard, in particular, as it formed a social heart of the studio, a great spot for informal discussion to unfold.<\/p>\n

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David Chipperfield’s office courtyard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The quality and careful use of materials at this studio blew me away. I loved the meeting room \u2013 each face of concrete was treated differently, feeling like marble, travertine and eroded stone on the floor. Andrew regularly reminded us of the philosophy of the practice, where \u201clight, materials and space makes architecture \u2013 it\u2019s that simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

After lunch in the courtyard at Chipperfield\u2019s office, we walked five minutes to Acme, another London office with a Berlin studio. Acme have an ethos of replicating good ideas in different places. They presented a German bank in Leipzig \u2013 almost a presentation you would get as a client at the end of design and documentation, complete with finishes boards. The building is a curious cluster of columns, with a sculptural beauty. It was an international project by an international office, which was similar to what we saw at Chipperfield\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n

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Presentation from Acme<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By this point, the group was hungry to hear more about the city and how architects are influential in city making. Enter Deadline Architects. The practice is run from a building designed by Deadline Architects as a home, office and \u201cbed and breakfast, but without the breakfast.\u201d Externally the building matches the flat hierarchy of volume in the city (planning height of 22m to the eaves), yet the materials and form gives the impression of an airstream caravan \u2013 hopeful and futuristic.<\/p>\n

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Our conversation about the growth of Berlin at Deadline<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This building was a starting point for us to engage in a conversation about city making. Matthew Griffin, a native Canadian and director of Deadline, spoke to us about co-op developments and the associated challenges. We asked Matthew about the development of the city since the 1990s, and he told us about the demands and questions raised by an influx of new residents to Berlin (approx. 50,000 people\/year) and an increase in tourism. After the Berlin wall came down, the city realized that there was an interest from visitors to see remains of the wall and a local debate was opened. Should the city rebuild sections of the wall? Or create a planning scheme that allows for the building volumes to increase in height where the wall once was? Matthew was disappointed to share that the city selected the first option as an appropriate response. He seemed frustrated at the current conservative approach to development in the city.<\/p>\n

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The scale of Berlin from the street<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We then visited GMP, a large German company working on projects of a major scale around the world. The studio felt like somewhere Mies Van Der Rohe would have been happy to work \u2013 imagine glass, chrome and black. For the first time we were in conversation with a German architect, but discussing a new city in China, rather than the history and city making of Berlin. We started to ask more about the scale of Berlin \u2013 to us it appears very homogenous, with hospitals, hotels, apartments and commercial buildings all at the same height and volume. Martin from GMP explained to us that there was a very prescriptive \u201cbook of rules\u201d about the design of facades in Berlin \u2013 in particular, a ratio of openings and limitations on material selections. Martin went on to explain the differences between East and West Berlin \u2013 if we see any 1950\u201370s buildings, you know you are in the West and the differences in city fabric is more subtle. Without any prompting, Martin compared Berlin to London \u2013 \u201cthis is not a city of perfume flagons.\u201d Thanks Martin! <\/p>\n

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The office of GMP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2013 Leah Gallagher <\/em><\/p>\n

Follow #2018DuluxStudyTour<\/a> for updates. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On our first day in Berlin, we could not help but compare everything to our experiences in London. It\u2019s beneficial for the group to have a singular reference point, as we are all from different places and backgrounds. This has been the aspect of the trip that I have enjoyed the most. Alison, our energetic … Continue reading Berlin Day 1: Soft suggestions, not large-scale drama<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":653,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.architecture.com.au\/duluxstudytourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.architecture.com.au\/duluxstudytourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.architecture.com.au\/duluxstudytourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.architecture.com.au\/duluxstudytourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.architecture.com.au\/duluxstudytourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3714"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wp.architecture.com.au\/duluxstudytourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3718,"href":"https:\/\/wp.architecture.com.au\/duluxstudytourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3714\/revisions\/3718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.architecture.com.au\/duluxstudytourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.architecture.com.au\/duluxstudytourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.architecture.com.au\/duluxstudytourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}