White settlement Dammweg, Berlin-Neukölln New generation square and redevelopment of Aronstraße/Sonnenallee urban space

Creation of a multifunctional square in a large housing estate from the 1970s. Facilities for all age groups include a climbing facility, table tennis, play tables and a picnic deck. The design was preceded by planning workshops with residents and a local youth club.



Entrance square and new passageway from Sonnenallee to Aronsstraße: upgrading the entrance situation and increasing the quality of stay, reducing areas of anxiety by thinning out the existing planting and improving lighting, creating a visible connection to Generationenplatz.



Place, location, initial situation

The Weiße Siedlung Dammweg in Berlin-Neukölln is a residential area of social housing from the 1970s. Typical of the area are the bands of buildings, some of which are 18 storeys high, which stand out strongly from the neighboring buildings. The characteristic light-colored houses, which are now owned by "Brandenburg Properties 5 S.a.r.l", gave the approximately 15-hectare area the name White Settlement or Sun Settlement. The area is bordered by Dieselstrasse to the north, Aronsstrasse to the west, Dammweg to the east and Sonnenallee to the south. The adjoining allotments and the park-like green areas in the estate provide a sufficient supply of green and open spaces. Around 4000 residents live in the neighborhood, around 70% of whom have a migration background. Among them are many young families with several children. A good quarter of the residents are under the age of 18. Since 2005, the estate has received federal funding from the Socially Integrative City urban development program and is supervised by a neighbourhood management team.

Diverse and spacious green and open spaces as well as many playgrounds and football pitches characterize the residential environment of the Weiße Siedlung. However, most of these were in poor condition and urgently needed to be renovated and improved. There was also a lack of facilities for young people and meeting places for adults and senior citizens.

The bwgt office was commissioned to plan the playgrounds in the northern quarter. Our office was responsible for planning the squares in the southern quarter (Quartiersplatz, Eingangsplatz and Platz an der Aronsspitze).



The public entrance square on Sonnenallee (owned by the Neukölln district) forms the southern entrance to the Weiße Siedlung. A bus stop, a furniture store, the rental office, the neighborhood meeting point and the Sunshine Inn youth club are located here. It is therefore a transit area and social contact point for the residents. The private Generationenplatz (owned by Brandenburg Properties) is an important link in the southern quarter. Many residents cross it on their way to Sonnenallee. Before the redesign, it was completely shaded and only connected to the thoroughfare to Aronsstraße by a narrow, heavily overgrown passageway. There was no direct connection to the entrance square. The likewise private square at Aronsspitze (owned by Brandenburg Properties), located around 200 meters to the north, forms the transition to the northern quarter. It is also only a transit area for many residents, but is also a popular place to linger, especially for older residents.





Concept, central idea

As part of workshops with residents, the Sunshine Inn youth facility and the police prevention unit, wishes and goals for the open spaces and squares were formulated. As a result of these workshops conducted by the neighborhood management, the neighborhood square was to be designed as a multifunctional generational square for small parties, flea markets and events and better connected to the entrance square, which also needed to be upgraded. The playground at Aronsspitze, which was no longer needed, was to be redesigned into a small square for senior citizens.

Both squares were located under a dense canopy of trees and were heavily shaded. The path surfaces, seating and play equipment were dilapidated or destroyed, making the squares unattractive for any kind of use. One of the most important goals of our planning was therefore initially to create sunny areas for sitting and playing by thinning out the existing trees and shrubs, to create more attractive pathways and to increase the sense of safety for users and passers-by.

Further goals and wishes were Meeting points for different (age) groups with benches and tables, play facilities for younger children and better lighting.

The square at Aronsspitze was particularly popular with older residents, who enjoyed taking a break here and watching the hustle and bustle on the street. Here, too, the old trees and shrubs were thinned out to make the square, which was perceived as a place of fear, more friendly. New benches and tables create a previously non-existent quality of stay.



Functional areas, development, accessibility

The upgraded southern entrance square now merges generously and openly into the new generation square and forms a design unit with it in terms of its materiality, furnishings and lighting. The paving is made of simple stone, monochrome gray in the area of the entrance square, gray-anthracite banded on the generation square. The benches are made of robust concrete and arranged on the sides of the square. Raspberry-red wooden cushions with and without backrests, waste bins and play equipment provide colorful accents. On the north side of the Generationenplatz is a playground with different-colored wooden play equipment for smaller children and a wooden deck for picnics. A power connection integrated into the wooden deck is available for various events.

In order to emphasize the design coherence of the squares, the same equipment elements and the same pavement banding were used for the square at the Aronsspitze. All areas are barrier-free.



Ecology, vegetation

The existing vegetation dates from the 1970s and consists mainly of sycamore and sugar maple trees, which are often too close to the buildings and in some cases heavily shade the squares and houses. There are also extensive plantings of firethorn and mahonia. The firethorn plantations, which have grown up to 3.5 meters and have been cut with hedge shears, have formed and continue to form green walls along paths, which have led to a strong feeling of insecurity, especially on narrow thoroughfares. It was therefore initially important to thin out the trees and clear the shrubs. Redthorn, serviceberry, field maple and birch were planted as replacement trees. Hedge myrtle (Lonicera nitida 'Maigrün') was planted around the shady, tree-covered edges of Generationenplatz and Platz an der Aronsstraße. Ground-covering roses (Rosa ìnnocencia`) and grasses (Miscanthus sinensis `Kleine Fontäne`) as well as Thunberg barberry (Berberis thunbergii) were used in sunnier areas.