Tempelhof Parkland The Concept

From Airport to Tempelhof Parkland

all photos © Roger Freyer

Bus trips gave an impres-sion of the dimensions of the site. In dialogue with interested members of the public in October 2009.

In dialogue with interested members of the public in October 2009.

The second stage of the public participation process in August 2010 also attracted numerous visitors.

Members of the public made extensive use of the opportunity to express their wishes and contribute their ideas.

The Procedure The closing of Tempelhof Airport gave Berlin a unique opportunity to develop an inner-city parkland of extraordinary dimensions. In March 2010, the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development held an open international landscape design and realization competition for Tempelhof. From the outset the people of Berlin were closely involved in the development process.

Tempelhofer Freiheit1 comprising the airport building, the apron in front of the hangars and the over two-kilometre long runways is a Berlin landmark site. Tempelhof Parkland is a place for quiet retreat and active recreation, a natural landscape with valuable flora and fauna, a site of spectacle and representation, and a location of great historical signifi­cance. The parkland heralds an innovative approach to the use of natu­ral resources and will become an area that can be experienced and enjoyed by people from all walks of life in the city.

Another objective is to connect the new parkland with the different social milieus in the adjoining neighbourhoods of Nord-Neukölln, Kreuzberg and Tempelhof-Schöneberg and with the new urban quar­ters that are to be built. It was also important to have a concept that would provide a clear framework for the future parkland, but leave room for changes over a long period of development without impairing its distinctiveness.

All these requirements had to be considered by the entrants in the competition who were required to coordinate them in an appropriate spatial and functional setting. The schemes submitted were to be based on a utilization of the space by ‘pioneers’, i.e. groups organising them­selves in semi-public spaces, and thus on the creativity and initiative of the urban community.

Urban development as a process The new Tempelhof Parkland will be an open space of great significance for the whole of Berlin and have an impact far beyond the boundaries of the city. In all the phases of its development the parkland will offer a range of attractive facilities that can be used irrespective of the progress made in the overall development of the site. The participants in the competition were therefore obliged to picture the parkland as emerg­ing gradually in a lengthy process of development.

The term parkland was deliberately chosen to emphasise that this is not a park in the traditional sense, but a very special space that will combine features of a park with the experience of a landscape.

This includes the visibility of the horizon which is unmatched anywhere else in the inner city. The challenge resides in structuring this vast expanse without neutralising it.

Public involvement In the autumn of 2007 a web-based public dialogue was conducted at the start of a process of intense public involvement, which elicited pro­posals from 1,400 participants.

The next step was a representative written public survey carried out in the summer of 2009. Six thousand questionnaires were distributed to randomly selected households in the area around Tempelhofer Feld2 . The 25 per cent response rate was very good. One thousand question­naires were dispatched to all parts of Berlin. The response rate here was 30 per cent. Almost 50 per cent of the respondents could imagine becoming involved in the design and use of the parkland.

In addition to the questionnaires, invitations were sent out calling on the recipients to take part in chaired discussions in focus groups. People with an immigration background, in particular, were thus given an opportunity to have their say in detailed exchanges. Seventeen group interviews were conducted. The lively interest shown continued in October 2009, when over 3,500 visitors responded to a call from the Berlin Senate Department to contribute to the schemes for the future of Tempelhofer Feld at the site itself. On the morning of 3 October, barely a year after the airport had closed, Hangar 1 was opened for the first time to the general public. The heavy steel doors were pushed aside to offer visitors an intriguing view of the former airfield.

While exhibitions and guided tours were organised for information purposes, the focus on this occasion was on face-to-face dialogue. A TED survey provided an opportunity for an exchange of views on the master plan, which was on display, as well as on other planning material. All manner of contributions could be witnessed at the working tables of this Tempelhof workshop, where young and old had an oppor­tunity to demonstrate their creativity by using pencil and paper to produce their own maps and plans.

In May 2010, Tempelhofer Feld was opened to Berliners and their guests under the motto “Freedom to Move”. Over 230,000 people came along during the first weekend to experience the broad expanse of the former airport for themselves. Since that time it has been used daily by some 10,000 people for walks, sporting activities and recreation.

The ideas and wishes put forward during the public participation pro­cess contributed to the formulation of the competition brief. Despite different positions – ranging from criticism of the closing of the airport to anticipation, curiosity about the parkland and rejection of some of the planned future uses – the residents of the adjoining neighbour­hoods responded with great sensitivity to the plans and ideas that were submitted and welcomed a closer involvement of the public in the ongoing planning process.

IBA and IGA as development tools An International Building Exhibition (IBA) and an International Horticultural Exhibition (IGA) will be used as tools to accelerate the development of Tempelhofer Freiheit. Therefore, one of the tasks formulated in the competition brief was to prepare the ground for the IGA 2017. As an event with general public appeal, IGA 2017 will help to visualise the process of transformation at Tempelhofer Freiheit.

Type of procedure The competition was held in March 2010 as an open landscape design competition to be followed by a negotiated procedure. The two-tier procedure consisted of (i) the competition with a structural plan encompassing urban development and landscape architecture and (ii) the negotiated procedure to give the landscape architecture design greater depth and detail. The competition was anonymous up to the end of the jury meeting. The following six prize winners were selected to participate in the subsequent negotiated procedure:

• GROSS.MAx. landscape architects, Edinburgh; Sutherland and Hussey, Architects, Edinburgh • BASE landscape architects, Paris; anOtherArchitect, Berlin • Topotek1 Landschaftsarchitekten, Berlin; Dürig Architekten, Zurich • bbzl böhm benfer zahiri landschaften städtebau, Berlin • Capatti Staubach Landschaftsarchitekten, Berlin; Christoph Mayer, architect, Berlin • Rehwaldt Landschaftsarchitekten, Dresden; Rohdecan Architekten, Dresden

In August 2010 the Senate Department for Urban Development invit­ed the public to view the selected schemes and resume their partici­pation in a dialogue on the design of the parkland. Visitors were able to engage in a face-to-face discussion of the designs with representa­tives of the six prize-winning teams in Section A2 of the airport build­ing. Once again attendance was high, the total number of 2,400 vis­itors underlining that the people of Berlin remain keenly interested in being involved in the shaping of the Tempelhof Parkland.

From early September the teams undertook a revision of their plans in the course of the negotiated procedure. Four colloquia were held with the six teams, each of them coming together separately with the decision-making body consisting of international experts and rep­resentatives of the Senate and the Districts of Berlin. Joint discussions with all the teams were held in conclusion. The individual designs underwent changes in the course of this dialogue and were adapted to the requirements of the site. Finally, the decision-making body issued a unanimous recommendation in March 2011 that GROSS.MAx. and Sutherland Hussey, Edinburgh, be commissioned to undertake further work. In April 2011 the winning entry submitted by Eelco Hooftmann and Daniel Reiser from GROSS.MAx. was presented to interested residents. Following the panel discussion Grün Berlin GmbH, Tempelhof Projekt GmbH and the Senate Department for Urban Development were available for discussion as part of the ongoing dialogue.

1 Tempelhofer Freiheit is the name of an urban development project initiated by the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development in 2008 for the post-closure use of the airport site.

2 Originally the name of the fields of the Knights Templar residing in the village of Tempelhof (Court of the Templars). Later on the site became a military training ground, then the first civilian airport in Europe. Since 2008, when aviation operations at Tempelhof Airport ceased, the term Tempelhofer Feld has been used again to describe the area between Hasenheide recreational park and the circular suburban railway line.

A visitors pavilion is to be built in the middle of the parkland.

© gross.max

© gross.max

Tempelhofer Feld is gradu­ally developing into a new type of parkland.

“The outstanding quality of the design concept is manifested in its very clear central idea, which is the product of a close examination of the urban figure and the scale of the airport building and the very spacious site. It opens up an opportunity to completely reinterpret the site, give it a new, strong identity with a supra-regional impact and put the monumentality of the airport building into perspective, while nonetheless doing justice to it.” (Assessment of the decision-making body)

“Participation and involvement are the main urban development challenges in the 21st century. We have already tackled this challenge in Tempelhof.” (Regula Lüscher)

“I like the GROSS.Max. design, because it does not reconstruct the past, but initially leaves a large part of the area empty so that it can be developed step by step. I also like the fact that the runways are maintained and the fundamental historical structures remain visible. The runways are developing at the moment into a boulevard

– like Kurfürstendamm – but one showing a society devoted to recreation not to commerce anymore.” (Matthias Lilienthal)

“The design deals in specific detail with the site. It takes up its unique features and enhances them. It is only conceivable at the Tempelhof airfield and is thus highly distinctive.” (Assessment of the decision-making body)

“The Tempelhof Parkland should grow with its users.” (One of the many thousands of suggestions from the public workshops)

“The landscape architects have a feeling for the grand gesture but also for more restrained tones. Their design transforms an airfield into a park without obliterating its past and the vestiges of its uses. On the contrary, they are highlighted.” (Regula Lüscher)

Published by Senate Department for Urban Development and Environment Am Köllnischen Park 3 10179 Berlin

Coordination Senate Department for Urban Development and Environment Section II D Almut Jirku Brückenstraße 6 10179 Berlin

Editing, text ts|pk thies schröder planungskommunikation Thies Schröder, Sandra Rosenkranz Bernauer Straße 8a 10115 Berlin www.ts-pk.eu

Design Oliver Kleinschmidt, Berlin www.buero-kleinschmidt.de

Printed by druckhaus köthen

Photo credits GROSS.MAx. landscape architects Sutherland Hussey architects Roger Freyer

Translation Robert Bryce, Berlin

www.tempelhoferfreiheit.de

www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/aktuell/wettbewerbe/ergebnisse/ 2010/parklandschaft_tempelhof/

www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/aktuell/wettbewerbe/ergebnisse/ 2011/parklandschaft_thf_verhandlungsverfahren/

www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/tempelhof/

March 2012

The scheme submitted by GROSS. MAX. The Gross.Max. design (as at April 2011) revolves essen- meadowland. The biological diversity is treated with great Areas of intensive use are closely linked, while more tially around the integration of the airport building and care; the existing trees at Alter Hafen will be preserved extensive areas, especially the central grassland, have the former runways into the parkland by the simple and and supplemented. The central grassland is a moving field fewer connecting routes. This gives rise to both lively and natural use of a circle and an oval. The circular shape, of flowers and grasses that will incorporate a few of the quieter areas in the parkland, which meets the needs of derived from the airport building, is created by means of a current unused buildings and the rock. The latter will pro- nature conservation. The park joints link the central land­small landform with the circumference of a quadrant and vide a new landmark – an elevation, a climbing rock and a scape area with the residential quarters, thus allowing by paths that complete the circle. The oval consists of the monument for Humboldt. The rock relates in spatial terms for an exchange of cold air. existing taxiways and new overlapping paths. The east- to the monument in Viktoriapark and the radar tower. west runways and a new north-south path establish links The design harbours great potential for an innovative park with the surroundings. A pavilion with an information The ring with its overlapping circuits creates a dynamic concept. It succeeds in designing a park of high utilization point and a restaurant is to be erected at the junction of zone in which there will be room for small-scale uses. value while maintaining the character of the airport. the northern runway and the north-south path. Here, close to the residential quarters, there will be space

for numerous, small-scale, everyday facilities, such as a A water basin and connecting watercourse begins at the children’s play area, barbecue sites, etc. Pioneer uses eastern end of the apron to the south of the taxiway and that have proved their value can be maintained here as moves westwards along the boundary between the apron semi-public areas. and the terrain. This is a perfectly natural form of delinea­tion. The round area in the vicinity of the apron can be used as a sky mirror in summer and ice rink in winter. The huge expanse of Tempelhofer Freiheit will produce a 360-degree parkland. No matter where you are, you can see the sky, the horizon and the urban panorama. The vastness can be experienced in the large areas of

As at April 2011

Water basin and airport building Elevation model Ice rink Fascinating openness Pioneer vegetation New paths Pioneer area Semi-public areas Unimpeded views Ruderal vegetation Multiple uses Rock monument

© gross.max. Landschaftsarchitekten und sutherland Hussey architekten

Stage III after the end of the 2017 International Horticultural Exhibition (completion of the parkland), as at April 2011

Tempelhofer Freiheit1

An interview with Eelco Hooftman of GROSS. MAX., winners of the competition for the design of Tempelhof Parkland

During the first stage of the competition you asked who was afraid of the urban void.

John ruskin, the illustrious art critic of the British romantic period of the 19th century, wrote of modern landscape art: “If a general and characteristic name were needed for modern landscape art, none better could be invented than ‘the service of the clouds’.” It is precisely the vast openness of Tempelhof which makes it unique: a 360 degree diorama of the sky, of the Himmel über Berlin (English film title Wings of Desire). at Tempelhof the sky and meteorology play a role that is almost overwhelming.

1 Tempelhofer Freiheit is the name of an urban development project initiated by the Berlin senate Department for Urban Development in 2008 for the post-closure use of the airport site.

But 19th century landscape art is not necessarily a useful source for a 21st century park.

The vastness of the site at Tempelhofer Feld2

produces am almost overwhelming sense of space. We were surprised how many people in Berlin have an affinity with this essential quali­ty of the site. most importantly, of course, the effect is liberating; the independent citizen becomes a creative explorer once again.

The site is a palimpsest of time. We should, of course, be bold and add a new contemporary layer. The circulation we have proposed, for example, creates a dynamic orbit. The circular embankment outlines the scale of the former airport building – the second largest building façade in the world – and extends this facade into the future park. The composition also facilitates clear spatial and programmatic zoning.

Are you saying that a process of change is inher­ent, as it were, in the DNA of Tempelhofer Feld?

The site has been transformed over time, but it has always remained a distinct and coherent entity. We like the idea of metamorphosis, the unfolding of the site over time. The history of the site represents a cycle of development; each phase opens up new uses and program­matic possibilities. an important and defining aspect of landscape architecture is that it deals with time and therefore focuses on processes of change, transformation and duration. Land­scape architecture helps to shape a world in constant flux and evolution.

2 originally the name of the fields of the Knights Templar residing in the vil­lage of Tempelhof (Court of the Templars). Later on the site became a mili­tary training ground, then the first civilian airport in Europe. since 2008, when aviation operations at Tempelhof airport ceased, the term Tempel­hofer Feld has been used again to describe the area between Hasenheide recreational park and the circular suburban railway line.

What role does nature play in your design?

Nature is not an object but a process. While nature conservation may be appropriate in certain areas of the site, we prefer the notion of ‘nature activation’. We like the analogy between pioneer users and pioneer vegetation developing over time into more complex spa­tial and programmatic entities. In such a sce­nario man and nature are no longer divided but participants in the same process.

Tempelhofer Feld provides a stepping stone for plant and animal communities on the move in times of climate change. our attitude is not the same as free for all; of course we structure, compose and orchestrate.

What about integration into the urban surroundings?

Tempelhof should operate simultaneously on a diversity of scales. on the scale of the city it provides an outdoor living room and events area for the entire metropolis of Berlin. along the park edges and ring, especially at the various entrance points, it accommodates neighbourhood facilities. The true potential of Tempelhof will be only unlocked if we can provide the connections with the green structure of Berlin beyond the site itself.

The scale of the park justifies a process-orien­tated approach. We are providing connectivity for both man and nature. once that connectiv­ity has been established, we can afford to do very little on the site itself.

Can you draw a comparison between the all­powerful eye of the airport radar and the differ­ent concentric rings of the Berlin green structure?

as always, it is fascinating to see the bigger picture. The green structure of Berlin provides a kind of new ecological and meteorological airlift. The green structure of Berlin is like a matryoshka doll from russia. We hope that the emblematic composition of our design reflects that.

We had a very lively debate in the jury about the curved embankment. Will it lead to an uninten­tional division of the site? Is the gesture too for­mal or too artificial?

For us the former airport building is the key to unlock the potential of the site. We like the ref­erence to the georgian royal Crescent in the city of Bath – the notion that a building can capture and define a wide expanse of space. The curved embankment articulates this rela­tionship, but in a subtle manner. The sceno­graphy rests on a descending height of the embankment, which allows for changing per­spectives, and a dynamic sense of enclosure. The overall effect is not only defined by the embankment, but also by the slightly sunken inner circle, which can be used for events and, in the winter, inundated to form a natural ice rink. The ring of ice is not only a programmatic device, but also – as a frozen liquid mirror reflecting the sky – an important aesthetic intervention.

But what about the key feature of the site, the open central grassland?

We like the notion of what in great Britain is called a ‘green’ or ‘common’, a large expanse of emptiness as an antidote to the congested city. But this central field should also become a spectacle: large sweeping fields of colour and a buzz of bees, butterflies and skylarks. at the moment this area consists of about 80 per cent grass and 20 per cent shrubs. We propose a maintenance programme to enhance the biodiversity.

The monumental rock is an amazing structure. We could hardly believe our eyes when we saw it.

That was exactly our intention! It’s difficult to justify in terms of rational arguments, but we like it nevertheless. It’s another element from the traditional repertoire of landscape art – a ‘foreign body’. In Berlin there is a long tradi­tion of combining landscape and monuments. In fact, the composition of the former airport building is entirely orientated on schinkel’s monument to the Wars of Liberation erected in 1821 in Victoria Park. our monument is a tribute to alexander von Humboldt, who was the first to study the geographical distribution of plants on the basis of altitude. The rock monument will not enclose but articulate the openness and expanse of the site. It will provide a provocative landmark that will assist the branding of the Tempelhof site.

Can you say something about the ring?

The ring consists of overlapping circuits. This provides a dynamic edge condition which creates a zone for smaller-scale activities such as sport, allotments, dog walks, skateboarding, etc. The landscape contains orchards, a large wave of coppice plantation, sweeping fields of crops as well as meadows and grassland with a variety of maintenance regimes. special habi­tats will be formed out of broken-up fragments of the former airport taxiway in the southern part of the site. The circulation rings permit different speeds of movement and transport.

© gross.max. Landschaftsarchitekten und sutherland Hussey architekten © gross.max. Landschaftsarchitekten und sutherland Hussey architekten

Kommunikation, Am Köllnischen Park 3, 10179 Berlin, kommunikation@senstadt.berlin.de, www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de

Stage I up to the 2017 International Horticultural Exhibition (emergence of the park framework)

Stage II during the 2017 International Horticultural Exhibition (development of innovative landscapes)

© Gross.Max. Landschaftsarchitekten und sutherland Hussey architekten

Urban urgeby Henri Bava

Challenge Landscape architects like to design places considered difficult and unrewarding and sometimes regarded as ugly even. In such cases they appear on the scene to salvage a seemingly hopeless situation and remedy it through their endeavours. If they are brought in to enhance a carefully planned and well­fashioned project like Tempelhof, however, which enjoys general appreciation and is simply wonderful, the challenge they face is much tougher.

In the case of Tempelhof the main task con­fronting the designer teams was to transform an airport into a public park, to convert a screened off and tightly controlled arena into a completely open urban space.

This placed very considerable demands on the landscape architects selected by the competi­

tion jury. Their understanding of the specific nature of the undertaking had to be such that their project would reflect its essence and move it ahead as if the two were in complete harmony – the product, as it were, of a secret pact concluded long before with the original designers.

Horizontality The landscape architects Eelko Hooftmann and Bridget Baines from Gross. Max. have done justice to the outstanding character of Tempel­hof not by ‘adding’ anything, but by embracing the existing nexus of connections and lending it greater intensity through their essentially ground-based work.

The designers have preserved the horizontal character of the site, while at the same time extending it with the circular landform. This

has produced a different, linear horizontality adding to the enormous dimensions of the site. This horizontality is reinforced, and slight­ly disturbed, by the vertical thrust of the rock and by a number of trees, which ‘infect’ the ‘uncontaminated’ flatness of the grassland. The slightly sunken, bowl-shaped composi­tion also contributes to this enlivened and enhanced horizontal dimension, albeit in a deliberately restrained manner, through its capacity for inundation and transformation into a natural ice rink in winter – a frozen liquid mirror reflecting the sky – and the provision of space for gardens during the International Horticultural Exhibition. The hollows it com­prises intensify the horizontal dimension and keep guard over it. In taking up many of the items included in the programme they enable the huge area of grassland to better fulfil its function as a ‘common’.

Kommunikation, Am Köllnischen Park 3, 10179 Berlin, kommunikation@senstadt.berlin.de, www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de

Curves The curved airport building appears to open its arms to the huge runways of Tempelhof, which form a broad plain in the heart of Berlin, in a powerful embrace that links the massive building and the unobstructed terrain. In the Gross. Max. design the curve of the building seems to have triggered a circular oscillation that has produced a network of paths. This dynamic movement is reminiscent of the duplicated figures in andy Warhol’s paintings and collages. The geometry is not rigid but in motion; it is intimated and integrated. It offers a multitude of spaces that can be used and exploited by different groups of visitors.

Sky The sky is incorporated into the scheme by means of these project elements. They do not attempt to assert control over the entire set­ting, but instead work together with the open space, rather like the figures in a Miro painting placed in the abstract depiction of a large space with no hope of filling it, yet giving it meaning nonetheless. Hence this open space,

which is defined by a few identifiable objects and, like a large piazza, extends the airport sur­face outwards, is flanked on both sides by new residential quarters. In their sturdy resistance to the orbit of the circular perimeter paths, the two runways that have been preserved embody a horizontal monumentality and a source of tension within the bends and curves. They are a testimony to the past and the huge machines that once took off and landed here with elegant ease.

The artificial rock, which pays tribute to alex­ander von Humboldt, is a compact material symbol of upward progress – the ascent of the future climber and the historical rise of aviation.

Centrality Thanks to the efforts of Gross. Max. this magnificent location will have a positive impact on the everyday lives of many Berliners. It will fill everyone with a sense of its unique quality.

Tempelhofer Feld (originally the name of the fields of the Knights Templar residing in the village of Tempelhof (Court of the Templars) will unite different urban pathways and serve as an important place of encounter in the midst of an uninterrupted and coherent sys­tem of parks. Tempelhof will provide a link from one urban neighbourhood to the next.

Movement In their scheme the Gross. Max. landscape architects have merged the preservation of the setting and the sensuousness of the landscape with their own specific project design. They have thus succeeded in maintaining the spirit of Tempelhof while at the same time setting the site almost imperceptibly in motion. Their proposal that different park curators should be brought in on an annual basis underlines this concept of movement and tes­tifies to their creativity and a spirit of innova­tion rooted in the notion that a park is ‘not an object but a process’. although their approach is very clear and formal, it is geared to enchantment rather than formalism.

© Gross.Max. Landschaftsarchitekten und sutherland Hussey architekten

© Gross.Max. Landschaftsarchitekten und sutherland Hussey architekten © Gross.Max. Landschaftsarchitekten und sutherland Hussey architekten

Pioneer uses at Tempelhofer Freiheit1

It is not just the fascinating open expanse of land that attracts large number of visitors to Tempelhofer Feld.2

Another reason to discover and enjoy the vast new outdoor space in the heart of Berlin are the pioneer uses that have been established there. These so-called interim uses offer attractive facilities for people seeking relaxation and recuperation.

Vogelfreiheit, an adventure play­ground for children and young people, was the first long-term pioneer project to be located in the parkland. The playground was an award winner in the 2007 online dialogue competition held during the conceptual design phase prior to the re-opening of the airport.

© Tempelhof Projekt GmbH

© Tempelhof Projekt GmbH

The focus in the area near Columbiadamm is on sport and health. This is where jugger is played. Originally a comic, jugger become a cult movie and has now been turned into a sport.

Development and objectives Several ideas workshops attended by interna­tional experts were held in 2007/2008 during the preparatory conceptual design phase of the project for the future use of Tempelhof Airport. It was here that the idea was born of systemati­cally integrating intermediate and pioneer uses into the urban development process for the first time.

Intermediate and pioneer users open up areas and spaces for the introduction of what are often innovative uses. The utilisation of these spaces in the city puts them back in the public eye. Intermediate and pioneer users are increas­ingly turning into important cooperation part­ners for the administrative authorities in the city. They help to generate business momentum by putting new life into shopping streets and residential neighbourhoods and, as start-up entrepreneurs, they use the spaces they have

1 Tempelhofer Freiheit is the name of an urban development project initiated by the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development in 2008 for the post-closure use of the airport site.

occupied to grow their businesses, thereby creating jobs and training themselves in inter­disciplinary cooperation and trans-disciplinary research.

The pioneer projects are selected to fit in with six key themes: innovation platform, sport and health, neighbourhood integration, dialogue on religion, future technologies, knowledge and learning. The selection procedure will initially continue on an annual basis until 2015. Partici­pants in pioneer projects conclude three-year usage agreements. Planning and building per­mission matches that time frame, which all those involved regard as a probationary period. At present Tempelhofer Feld is home to 13 pioneer projects on pioneer sites covering an area of 12 to 19 hectares that are earmarked for future construction and so permit only limited use.

2 Originally the name of a military training and parade ground of the Berlin garrison. Since 2008, when aviation operations at Tempelhof Airport ceased, the term Tempelhofer Feld has been used to describe the area between Hasenheide recreational park and the circular suburban railway line.

© Tempelhof Projekt GmbH

The pilot project basis.wis­sen.schafft sees itself as an interface between the questions put by civil soci­ety and the answers given by research institutions. Based on the international science shops, the project promotes dialogue at the local level between the scientific community and the general public. The emphasis here is on local counselling, the pass­ing on of knowledge and communication.

© Tempelhof Projekt GmbH

nuture miniARTgolf ist is a golf course designed by 18 artists that consists of 18 interactive mini-golf courses. The golf courses are interactive works of art that function like pinball games. The courses change and move, they light up, make noises and react to the players.

© Tempelhof Projekt GmbH

Kommunikation, Am Köllnischen Park 3, 10179 Berlin, kommunikation@senstadt.berlin.de, www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de

The pioneer project Arche Metropolis with the lucky dragon Mukti will be launched at Tempelhofer Freiheit2 in the spring of 2012. The dragon will open up the area for the Arche building site, on which a mobile, modular university of the future will be erected. Arche Metropolis is an art project in which people come together to seek solutions for future social cooperation.

© Tempelhof Projekt GmbH

The Plattenvereinigung project, which set up at the site in 2011 and staged various events and discussions in the course of one season, subsequently looked around for a successor. Vogelfreiheit will take over the building and use it as a clubhouse until the end of 2013. Plattenvereinigung sets quality standards with its discussions, recycling approach and practical implementation in a participatory building site and acts as a source of inspiration for the other pioneer projects.

Allmende Kontor in Oderstraße is a community garden project in which people of different ages and nationalities get together to do gardening, exchange ideas and pursue common interests.

Lernort Natur and MINTgrünes Klassenzimmer are also situated in Oderstraße. Lernout enables pre-school chil­dren to experience nature and learn about the environ­ment. Together with MINTgrünes Klassenzimmer it tries out new ways of teaching.

© Tempelhof Projekt GmbH

Pioneer project contact Tempelhof Projekt GmbH, Ines Rudolph, Columbiadamm 10, D2, 12101 Berlin, www.tempelhoferfreiheit.de