Summer School Paul-Hertz-Siedlung

Sustainable urban development will inevitably require addressing the suburban consequences of functional segregation. In the form of industrial parks, socially segregated housing developments, and commercialized centers, we have, over the past era, not only planned according to an energy-inefficient system but also jeopardized social cohesion. This is not solely a task for urban and regional planning, but fundamentally a matter of architectural vision for urban design. One area of ​​focus—the large housing estate—will be explored using the Paul-Hertz-Siedlung as a case study in a summer school. Our guiding principle for this urban renewal is the careful preservation of existing structures and, in particular, the respect shown to their residents.

Paul-Hertz-Siedlung, Charlottenburg North

This neighborhood was developed in exemplary fashion according to the ideals of urban expansion from the 1960s. A building configuration consisting of serial rows, composed within open, green interstitial spaces—in the sense of an urban landscape—with a predominantly north-south orientation, low-rise, concentrated service islands, a school, and two Christian community centers. Parking lots or pallets form the ends of cul-de-sacs, connected to a ring road that links this access principle to Berlin's urban highways at a few points. The logic of the plan became the aesthetics of the system. Despite densification, the settlement, now home to 8,000 residents, has remained structurally unchanged in its basic layout over the past 60 years. This contrasts sharply with the significant social transformation and dynamism* within the neighborhood's residents.

Urban Planning

From an urban planning perspective, it is important to explore to what extent certain spatial qualities within the settlement's structure could be emphasized to strengthen the district's identity. Furthermore, a pressing issue is how to establish, improve, or even create new connections with the surrounding neighborhood. The addition of a story – a single, unanimous addition in the early 1990s – did increase the area's density, but qualitative changes and additional building potential are still conceivable for a more urban character. This could lead to the creation of a beneficial social mix. It could also demonstrate an expansion of commercial use that goes beyond the requirements of simple local amenities. Alternatives to the parked vehicles that currently dominate the area could be tested. – How could the existing structures be used to strive for the diversity of a neighborhood that Jane Jacobs** equated with multiplicity?

Architecture

Individualization, adaptability, and the spectrum of typologies would be key themes in an architectural approach. This holds significant potential for activating the identities of individual parts of the district. Vacant spaces can be identified and filled, infill development can be created, and open spaces can be enhanced. The potential appropriation of private spaces depends on accessibility through the buildings. Direct access – house and apartment entrances – via public space, for example, creates clear addressing and orientation within the neighborhood. A consolidation and differentiation of public and private spaces would be an objective that could be discussed as an experiment within our research. This could be outlined through urban planning and architectural studies.

Summer School from August 31 to September 5, 2026 at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin)

The concepts to be developed can be viewed as strategies for a process of change, which we will present for discussion in the workshop. For one week at the beginning of September 2026, we would like to dedicate ourselves to this task with students from various universities, with international participation, working in mixed teams. We intend to invite speakers to give keynote presentations on the topic of urbanization in suburban areas. Further development of the concepts into semester projects or theses in the following winter semester would be desirable. Possible outcomes include urban planning follow-up projects, concrete architectural projects, and in-depth explorations of building construction. Documentation of the results is planned on the website of the Institute of Urban Design.

Our project is supported thematically by the Senate Department for Urban Development, Building and Housing – Division of Housing and Urban Renewal, the Commissioner for Participation, Integration and Migration, the Berlin Charlottenburg District Office, and Gewobag (housing association).

Registration for the Summer School opens on April 8, 2026. We will request confirmation again at the beginning of August 2026. Participation is limited to 50 people; places may need to be allocated by lottery.

Contact person for questions:
Prof. Klaus Schäfer
LB-Urban Planning
UdK Berlin
k.schaefer@udk-berlin.de

Please register for the Summer School here:
Lucie Leder – Office of the Institute for Architecture and Urban Planning (IAS)
University of the Arts Berlin
Hardenbergstraße 33
10623 Berlin
Email: fk2sekr2@intra.udk-berlin.de

*Study by IfS Berlin (Institute for Urban Research and Structural Policy), Study: Strengthening Berlin's Large Housing Estates (2020): Profiles of Berlin's Large Housing Estates for the Senate Department for Urban Development, Construction and Housing
**Urban and architectural critic, non-fiction author, and activist. USA, Canada (1916-2006)