Project Position
Dualität proposes hybrid housing built on existing inner-city infrastructure as a sustainable and socially integrative urban strategy.
Architectural Position
Dualität treats reuse of existing inner-city infrastructure as a design premise rather than a constraint, positioning reuse as an architectural and urban strategy.
Urban Strategy
By building on top of a two-storey parking structure in Berlin Wilmersdorf, the project proposes a site-specific intervention that functions as a replicable urban model.
Social Organization
Students and refugees are mixed on all residential levels, with integration produced through spatial organization rather than symbolic separation.
Building System
A lightweight modular timber superstructure is placed on the reused parking deck, enabling structural compatibility, adaptability, and reduced environmental impact.
Context & Preexistence
The project is located on a real, existing two-storey parking structure near the Universität der Künste in Berlin Wilmersdorf.
Rather than treating the site as a blank slate, the project takes the existing structure as a given, reusing it structurally, spatially, and socially.
Architectural Intent
Dualität explores how reuse of existing infrastructure can address housing shortages while supporting social integration.
The project reframes both students and refugees as residents in comparable transitional life phases, using architecture as a stabilizing framework rather than an exceptional solution.
Urban Strategy
Parking structures are often centrally located, structurally over-dimensioned, and socially underused.
By building on top of such infrastructure, the project proposes a site-specific intervention that also functions as a transferable urban strategy, avoiding demolition and peripheral development.
Programmatic Logic
The building is organized vertically.
Shared and collective functions occupy the ground and first floors within the reused parking structure, forming an urban and social plinth. Private residential spaces are located in the upper levels.
This establishes a clear gradient from public to private.
Building System & Construction
A lightweight modular timber construction is placed on top of the existing parking structure.
Timber is structurally compatible with reuse due to its low weight and enables prefabrication, adaptability, and reduced environmental impact.
Living Units & Everyday Use
Residential units are conceived as modular sleeping rooms designed for mid-term inhabitation.
Standardization supports equality and scalability, while spatial variation and privacy gradients support dignity and individual use.
Dualities & Architectural Resolution
The project resolves multiple dualities through spatial organization rather than symbolism:
Refugees ↔ Students
Temporary ↔ Permanent
Existing ↔ New
Private ↔ Shared
Each duality is grounded in a concrete architectural decision.
Architectural Implications
Dualität positions sustainability as a long-term urban strategy, combining reuse, adaptability, and social integration.
The project proposes a model for inner-city housing that is environmentally realistic, socially legible, and architecturally robust.
Social Integration by Design
Refugees and students are mixed on all residential levels, without spatial segregation by wing or floor.
Integration is treated as a design problem, requiring careful spatial organization to ensure balance, equal access, and coexistence.