The landscape and open space design for this new development including workplaces and residential lofts as well as a kindergarten, supermarket, and gym is a reflection of its setting and dynamic form. Referencing the architecture of the new mixed-use building, a striking pattern of zig-zag white markings on black asphalt aggregate near main entrances, intuitively leading visitors inside. Following a similar language, planters are laid out within angular voids that are softened with lush vegetation.

Nestled between the busy Ostkreuz train station and the banks of Rummelsberg Bay in Berlin-Friedrichshain, the building meanders its way adjacent to the rail embankment—its folded form creating multiple terraces, balconies, and loggias that serve as landscaped extensions of indoor spaces. Gingko trees and high grasses create dense clusters of greenery to contrast hard surfaces, serving as inviting sites for leisure and encounter. Increasing as one moves outwards from the solid mass of the long building, the newly planted foliage gradually blends into the natural green backdrop surrounding the site.

The site’s furnishings accent the open space with pops of colour. Benches are placed near the entrances and adopt the same materiality as the building’s ceramic-clad façade. As bright orange blocks, the benches jump into the foreground and offer passers-by to the chance to sit and enjoy the scenery. Three parasols that stand between the building’s northern terminus and the bay water’s edge are similarly vibrant, but are even more remarkable in scale – large enough to be recognised even when closed. When open, they shade a new public square that is created between a bend in the adjacent public recreational path and the amphitheatre stair at the conclusion of the building’s ground floor.