The Architecture of Care

Designed for SozDia, a non-profit organization that offers crisis care, education, and integration programs to marginalized communities, the Berlin project incorporates various facilities, including a kindergarten, a family center, crisis accommodation, a women’s shelter, a youth club, workshops, aged-care, and dementia services, as well as residential options such as assisted-living spaces, studios, and one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes. The diverse functional requirements of the brief catalyzed a new design direction, explains LAVA Partner Tobias Wallisser: “Common buildings would simply not be capable of accommodating such a wide range of needs. The design had to combine flexibility and individuality, public and private, sustainability and affordability.”

Situated on an internal block, the design draws from the “Hof”—courtyard—typology common to Berlin’s cityscape. Prominent in the 19th and 20th centuries, this architectural style arranges buildings of varying sizes around an interior courtyard to provide light, air, and communal space in urban centers. In the SoHo project, LAVA reshapes this typology. The design organizes a series of three-story buildings with diverse functions around shared outdoor areas to create public and semi-private courtyards of different sizes. While many inner-city developments favor density over green spaces, this project places nature at its center. In doing so, it emulates the character of historic courtyards in Berlin, encouraging interaction between those living and working in the surrounding buildings by providing them with a communal space to socialize.

LAVA’s design was informed by studies into the spread of institutional care facilities across cities, which are frequently dispersed across the city. “We realized that combining these functions in one place was a very specific idea,” Wallisser continues. “Designing spaces that work for families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities requires a universal and modular approach.” The buildings feature concrete cores and modular units made from CLT, which lower costs and are prefabricated off-site for simple assembly. This expandable system allows for adaptable floor plans and fully accessible layouts that can evolve with the changing needs of residents, be they someone in assisted living or a family in a four-bedroom home. A similar approach defines LAVA’s design of the socially-conscious Youth Hostel Bayreuth, which uses modularity and universal design to ensure the longevity of the project for a range of visitors with different abilities and backgrounds.