Shirley Xue

The post-war ruins of Berlin provided the city with a unique testing ground for natural life. Based on it, the abandoned A104 motorway will develop into a new habitat for wildlife and serve as a bridge connecting biological habitats across distant city areas. The project attempts to tell the coexistence.

Next to the ruined garden and the "ribbon" built with reclaimed fragments of the motorway, a group of collective living towers combine hobby rooms and living spaces, expanding the community space of the city into the sky. The building is targeted to single people, minimizing private space while maximizing a more ample space. Inside the shared spaces, movable "bed boxes" and sunshades make the layout and lighting in the room change according to the varying needs of its occupants. Also, the structure allows the species habitat to expand vertically whilst remaining protected from direct human intervention. Timber is used as a material for the barrier, ensuring a low carbon footprint and blurring the boundaries between man and nature.

Finally, houses challenged private and public spaces and creating a way of living that is not bound by class, gender or age and provides a habitat for humans and non-humans to coexist.