Design for Bandstadt Grunewald, 1974
Scan: Anja Elisabeth Witte / Berlinische Galerie, design: Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte
21 Westkreuz
Linear City Grunewald
In the early 1970s the architects Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte designed Bandstadt Grunewald (Grunewald Linear City) based on the recently introduced Indapt system which offered its residents multifunctional concepts for the utilisation of space and supported different levels of interaction on a spectrum from complete privacy to maximum communication.
The structures of the buildings themselves were also intended to be flexible and adaptable to the changing needs and group structures of the residents without significant additional costs. This flexibility would be made possible by building with plastic, manufactured from crude oil. The planned building complex Bandstadt Grunewald above the AVUS motorway and the main line railway was intended to extend West Berlin (which had recently been walled in) out into the Grunewald and enable people to live directly above it in multi-storey houses. However, the oil crisis of 1973 put an abrupt end to this plan.
Model for Bandstadt Grunewald, 1974
Scan: Anja Elisabeth Witte/Berlinische Galerie, Design: Jasper Halfmann and Clod Zillich
For What If Berlin, Akira Takayama transposes unrealised projects from the archives of the Berliner Festspiele and other Berlin cultural institutions, as well as from architects and artists, into the present and asks us which vision we want to realise in the future.
The future vision for the project Linear City Grunewald, that will be presented in the frame of What If Berlin from 28 August 2026 onwards, will respond to the following question: What if Berlin were to build over the AVUS with organic architecture?
Which of the 27 visions for the future is the most exciting? Which project does Berlin need in future? Which idea should actually be realised?
Until 30 September 2026, you can vote for up to three of the 27 visions for the future. The results will be displayed live to give the latest impression of the public’s reactions.