Behrens-Ufer, a former industrial site located southeast of Berlin, will transform into a new urban technology hub over the next few years. In an architecture competition initiated by DIEAG, HENN was awarded first prize to design a Vertical Farmhouse, which will be constructed as a hybrid building featuring an innovative working and research environment with a fruit garden in its centre.

Research, development, and production will be combined in listed historical buildings and sustainably designed new additions on the banks of the River. In the eastern part of the site, the new building comprises two blocks that enclose an ascending terraced rooftop garden, which creates a network of paths through the entire complex, extending from the riverside promenade to the rooftop gardens. Below the gardenscape is a 9,000-square-meter vertical farm for food production in synergy with a fish farm.

Inspired by coastal agricultural landscapes, HENN designed the rooftop garden as a playful orchard with light extensions and overgrown pergolas inviting visitors to pick berries and fruit from trees. It serves as a place for outdoor communication, inspiration, and recreation for those who work in the building or visit the gardens.

The pergolas mediate between platforms situated at different heights while interlinking the outdoor space with the work environments and laboratory areas located in the external building wings in various ways. Thanks to the structured grid, the wings can be divided and used flexibly, allowing for a wide range of uses in the future. A bridge connects the two blocks to the riverbank. It accommodates co-working spaces and offers views across the River Spree and into the orchard. Meeting rooms incorporated into the garden terraces provide views of the vertical farm. Lettuce and herbs are grown in this structure reaching a height of up to nine meters, some of them in a fully automated setup. The aquaponics process establishes a natural cycle that uses nitrate-rich water from fish farming as fertilizer for growing plants.

Rendering. Hybrid building on Berlin's Behrens-Ufer by HENN.

Rendering. Hybrid building on Berlin's Behrens-Ufer by HENN.

In contrast to their lush natural surroundings, the building blocks are designed as clear, calm cubes. Its staggered levels allow the new build to blend harmoniously into its environs. The hybrid-timber structure uses a low-tech approach that minimizes resource and energy consumption. The façade combines large glass windows with photovoltaic panels for power generation. At ground-floor level, the building features arcades that open to the riverside promenade, inviting passersby to stroll through the Behrens Gardens.

Beehives will be placed on the rooftops alongside the agrivoltaic systems that allow the areas to be used for both agricultural production and electricity generation. Synergies from the vertical farm also contribute to the holistic sustainability concept.

As a new building block embedded in a newly designed urban neighbourhood, the Vertical Farmhouse will serve as a model project on an international scale. Technology, nature, and agriculture merge into a holistic experience (right in the middle of the city).

Other HENN projects for industry and science include the Merck Life Science Advanced Research Center in Darmstadt, Germany and the Innovation Center for High-Performance Medical Devices in Guangzhou, China.

More information

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Architects
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Team project
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Partners in charge.- Daniel Festag, Martin Henn. 
Team.- Gianmarco Fabbri, Oliver Koch, Julia Menz, Armin Nemati, Andre Serpa, Pengyan Wu, Yanan Yuan.

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Collaborators
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Landscape architecture.- Aplantis.
Structural engineer.- GRBV Ingenieure.
Building services.- Winter Ingenieure.
Fire protection.- Nees Ingenieure.

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Client
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DIEAG.

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Area / Dimensions
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Gross floor area.- 27,700 m².
Height x width x length.- 50 x 71 x 65 m.
Floors.- 15 above ground, 2 below ground.

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Dates
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Competition.- 2024.

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Venue / Location
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Behrens-Ufer. Ostendstraße 1–14. 12459 - Berlin, Germany.

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Program
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Office and meeting rooms, laboratories, co-working, vertical farm and fish farming, orchard, café, market and retail spaces, and sports area.

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HENN HENN is an international architecture practice with more than 75 years of expertise in the fields of office, science, health, industry, and culture. It is an interdisciplinary team of architects and engineers able to draw upon a wealth of knowledge collected over decades of building experience in addition to a worldwide network of partners and experts.
 
HENN was founded in 1947 by Walter Henn in Dresden. His son, Gunter Henn, opened HENN’s Munich office in 1979. Today, Martin Henn and a team of partners lead the practice. The three generations are linked through common values of openness and curiosity, which form the foundation for HENN’s ambition to rethink typologies and push forward sustainable construction.
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Published on: August 6, 2024
Cite: "A Vertical Farm. HENN wins competition for hybrid building on Berlin's Behrens-Ufer " METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/vertical-farm-henn-wins-competition-hybrid-building-berlins-behrens-ufer> ISSN 1139-6415
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