Rising global rent prices necessitate alternative approaches to housing. These initiatives must be understood through the lens of both architectural design and the socio-political factors which affect them. In Berlin, architects are embracing “Baugrüppen,” a form of social housing that returns the agency of the design process to residents themselves.

The process begins when a group of families form a collective with the intention of pursuing a housing project (typically on a vacant lot). An architect is approached to oversee the design process as families attune their individual units to their specific needs. The result is housing which is personalized, socialized, and a financial investment for the resident rather than a developer.

This project took place as part of an international design studio in the Victoriastadt neighborhood of Berlin. The premise was to design a Baugrüppen for a series of theoretical families of various sizes. The intention was to develop a housing scheme that was both attuned to the familial structures, while flexible enough to adapt over time. The units themselves are modular forms that intersect like puzzle-pieces. The main housing block is pulled back from the street-edge, which it connects to through a steel walkway structure. These walkways serve as both the main circulation and public outdoor spaces for the families’ use.

The resulting scheme is a fresh take on housing, one which decreases the cost of living through the tools of socialized design. In the context of 2016, it also became a potential concept for addressing the rising refugee housing crisis in Berlin through communal and localized measures.