Eckwerk

In collaboration with Kleihues + Kleihues architecture office and the Genossenschaft für urbane Kreativität (Cooperative for Urban Creativity), GRAFT developed the exemplary Eckwerk project, which sought to find solutions to current social, economic and ecological questions. The central idea of the Eckwerk was to create a vibrant, inspiring place that sets new benchmarks for the relationships between work and living and public and private life. The site, located in the northern section of the Holzmarkt area on the River Spree, was home to the legendary Berlin night club Bar 25 until 2011.

The terraced landscape of the interior space is designed as a publicly accessible, multilevel marketplace and serves as a hybrid indoor–outdoor area, mainly for co-working spaces. Covered by a delicate steel and glass construction, it lets in natural light and can be used all year round.

The five towers are linked by a publicly accessible walkway, the so-called “mountain path,” which connects the ensemble’s component parts and opens into semi-public spaces of interaction and relaxation. The meandering walkway can be accessed by the public without passing through the private work or living areas. It is conceived as a continuation of the Spree riverbank walk, as set out by the citizens’ initiative “Spreeufer für alle” (Spree riverbank for all).

The Eckwerk project manipulates the natural tendencies of socio-economic change within the urban matrix, proving the viability of creating new working environments and affordable housing in otherwise expensive areas.