Beelitz Heilstaetten

Situated in the middle of a forest, the Beelitz Sanatorium for Pulmonary Diseases was established in the early twentieth century by the Berlin pension committee. It has served as a sanatorium, a hospital, and a military hospital. Frequent changes of ownership in the aftermath of German reunification did its structural fabric more harm than good, and the fascinating ensemble became known for its morbid atmosphere. The client, Jan Kretzschmar, plans to transform this unique place into a residential neighbourhood, adding new buildings and functions while restoring the ensemble’s original character. This requires an urban planning concept that integrates new buildings and urban spaces into the existing architectural fabric. Thus the entrance to an area with terraced houses in a sylvan setting takes the form of a circular plaza defined by five four-storey residential buildings. The new buildings deliberately adopt the materials and colours of the surrounding architecture, whose style is interpreted rather than merely copied. The resulting similarities are offset by the smaller size, the different functions, and the urban scale of the new buildings, which are well able to hold their own against the historical architecture. Each of the five new buildings has a distinctive face adapting the ensemble’s characteristic style.