Berlin: Martashof
Scheme: Martashof | City: Berlin | Developer:Stofanel| Architects:Grüntuch Ernst Architekten | Landscape architect: tbc
Resident feedback: 'The shutters make lovely patterns when I close them. The street is very noisy though'.
This courtyard scheme of about 150 homes is not without controversy: it is part of the seemingly inevitable gentrification of East Berlin. The style of Martashof is also a bit international and corporate, fanning the flames of opposition fire, but is not without its charms. I have always found 'green walls' a little odd: whilst they dazzle, they somehow don't fit with the patient and organic concept of landscapes which mature and evolve over time. Martashof dispenses with the immediate impact of a green wall, preferring to grow its own up walls, as well as wires and poles deliberately added to the elevations. The top floor residents will just have to wait!
PS: I also saw a growing (sorry) trend for pavement edge planting, either resident or city-led, in Brussels and at Spreefeld:
