Kunstcampus Berlin

Kunstcampus Berlin – An urban bosquet

In its basic structure, the Kunstcampus, located north of the Hamburger Bahnhof with the museum of contemporary art, is more of a passageway than a square. Its plot is a relic of the former railway use. In contrast to its typological blur, the area has a pronounced local character due to the concise spatial figure. The concept emphasizes the difference between the Kunstcampus and the mostly manageable, orthogonal plazas of the emerging Europacity and the highly frequented infrastructures.

The aim of the design was to create a place of “retreat” by slowing down tourists and residents. For this purpose, an urban bosquet was formulated as a striking design gesture in the centre of the building. The area is divided into three subspaces which refer to each other through their trapezoidal floor plans with rounded contours. These three spaces are connected through a grove of silver birch trees.

With this urban bosquet, a motif was developed that forms a unique address in the urban area undergoing conversion. The grove creates both a concise image and a poetic-associative initial. The position of the birch trees interacts with the elongated spatial figure and refers to the direction of the former railway use. The contours of the grove define an opportunity space for air-conditioned rest, for perceiving other atmospheric qualities or for exploring urban life. In terms of design, the bosquet stages the contrast between formal austerity and openness, evoking a cultivated wildness.

INTERVENTION

Between June 2020 and January 2021, the potential of this open space was explored by Katharina Gross' artwork "It Wasn't Us". The Kunstcampus was thus part and a frame of a pictorial world that stretched from the historical station hall of the museum through the street space to the facade of the so-called Rieckhallen. The central urban bosquet was therefore transformed from a green "spot of colour" into a visual haven of calm amidst bursting colours.