YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
Einsteinpark, in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district, with its old trees and large meadow area covering 17,000 square metres, is a popular, green meeting place in Mühlenkiez, a residential area built between the 1950s and 1970s. It is bordered by residential buildings, a day-care centre and a primary school, and is the first major element of the Greifswalder Strasse urban redevelopment project. The basic design of the park from the 1960s has been repeatedly updated, refurbished and expanded over the years. The park is particularly characterised by its beautiful trees and shrubs.
The careful treatment of this very popular area among local residents, was essential for our design concept. It was important to us to re-emphasise the spatial structures and enrich them with new ideas to make the park a future-proof place. The main objectives of this project were also to renovate the pathways in order to ensure barrier-free accessibility and to secure the route to school for the pupils of Paul Lincke primary school. In addition, the aim was to improve the quality of the area and to redesign its playground.
The park, which is characterised by a central meadow area and a magnificent stock of trees, was both maintained and further developed with constant consideration of its natural qualities. The design of Einstein Park was a project financed by funds from the "Sustainable Renewal" funding programme in the Greifswalder Strasse development area. With its barrier-free, climate-neutral and intergenerational concept, the park has once again become a popular meeting place for all age groups in the catchment area, where residents - from toddlers to senior citizens - can enjoy a wide range of activities.
A crucial aspect of the project was the multi-stage participatory process, which made it possible to take into account the concerns and needs of all age groups and create a place for the entire community. This process included a citizens' workshop and two target group-oriented tours through the district. Thus, citizens were actively involved in the planning process. In addition, public information and discussion events based on the preliminary draft in order to gather the opinions and suggestions of local residents and incorporate them into the further planning process were held.
As a result of this participatory process, various islands, which significantly enhance the leisure facilities in the park, were created along the circular paths in the park, under the motto "There's always something going on". The new route offers circular paths of different lengths, allowing pedestrians, joggers or senior citizens with walking frames to explore the park and enjoy nature without having to leave the park repeatedly, as was previously the case. To create a better quality of stay, various sports and play islands have been arranged along these circular paths, inviting people to spend time in the park. Visitors can now even “walk an eight”, which is recommended from a therapeutic point of view, especially for seniors, as this stimulates both hemispheres of the brain.
One of the main attractions is the fitness island in the north of the park. Sports equipment designed especially for adults and senior citizens has been installed here to provide a varied workout for arms, legs and back. This area is also equipped with a synthetic surface that is gentle to the athlete's joints and offers ideal training conditions with a view of the entire site. The table tennis island has been extended for the younger visitors' sports programme in order to provide children with optimum playing opportunities. The existing table tennis tables were supplemented with lower versions that were tailored specifically to the needs of the little ones.
For families and visitor groups, the picnic island on the western edge of the play area offers ideal conditions for social gatherings. Especially nature lovers will appreciate the redesign, as two new very attractive flower islands have been created in the park. These flower islands were planted with roses and grasses and therefore provide an attractive appearance all year round. An upgrade was also given to Storkower Square by providing this area with a new square island with attractive planting and recreational facilities.
The heart of the park is the play island, designed under the motto "Universe, space and time", with its attracting "Einstein Universe" play equipment and the "Orbit" circular path. Thanks to its innovative design and educational concept, it has become a favourite destination for families and guarantees exciting adventures for both young and adult adventurers.
The play equipment offers a wide range of games for different age groups. The nets and tunnel-like structures and the "wormholes" in various "galaxies" - in the form of play platforms and houses - can be experienced by 3-12-year-olds by climbing, crawling and balancing. A tunnel slide is located in the centre. The western area offers toddlers a similar experience: balancing logs and ropes, a slide and various platforms invite them to explore this site. A double swing, a rotating disc and an undulating concrete balancing edge complete the offer. The "orbit" thus offers various opportunities for spatial and physical experiences. Paths and green areas around the playground have been renewed and new benches installed. The entire play area is enclosed by a fence and equipped with play sand or fall protection sand to ensure maximum safety. There are three barrier-free entrances to the children's play area: two barrier-free entrances to the east and west as well as an entrance with a separate maintenance access road. Although it is fenced off and separated from the park, the path in the playground remains part of the overall path concept.
Another highlight is the water feature island, which features an improved drainage system and an extended area The existing water features could be preserved and were framed by a surrounding seating area at different heights to make this place even more attractive to spend time there.
By October 2023, the entire Einstein Park had been transformed into an attractive green space for people of all age groups. Other focal points of the redesign were the barrier-free redesign of the paths and securing the route to Paul Lincke primary school and the daycare centres.
The north-south axis was expanded into a four-metre wide, illuminated footpath and cycle path, equipped with additional seating and bicycle parking spaces and optimised by redesigning the entrance areas. The entire pathway structure of the park was raised to the level of the entrances to allow continuous barrier-free accessibility.
In addition to the design aspects, the focus was also placed on the ecological sustainability of Einstein Park. As part of the overall ecological concept developed within the Networks 4 research project, the park plays an important role in preserving and promoting water and green spaces in urban areas. Particular attention was paid to the management of rainwater, which is retained in the park despite difficult soil conditions. Among other things, this was realised through the use of evaporation paving on the paths and squares, which not only contributes to the design of the park, but also helps to cool the climate of the entire area and thus contributes to climate protection.
The central lawn area and the old trees will continue to characterise the park. The existing planting in the peripheral areas was largely retained and expanded with mixed flowering shrubs, which not only serve as bee pasture, but also as breeding and shelter woodland for native bird species. In order to protect the habitat of the existing trees, footpaths in the root zone were removed and new paths were laid outside these zones. The intervention was reduced to the necessary extent and mainly implemented in existing path areas. In order to ensure ecological compensation and promote the preservation of natural diversity, measures such as the hanging of bird and bat nesting boxes were implemented at an early stage.
The sculpture "Albert & Einstein" (1998) was carefully restored in collaboration with the artist and the existing "Wilhelm Blank" memorial plaque on Storkower Platz and the "Einstein Pavilion" (1996) were refurbished by means of monument-sensitive cleaning. Overall, Einstein Park is a perfect example of the successful realisation of a sustainable and participatory urban development project. The combination of preserving the natural qualities of the park, barrier-free design, a wide range of leisure activities and ecological management has created a place that is
attractive to both the local community and visitors from other parts of the city. The park not only serves as a green oasis in the centre of the city, but also as a meeting place that promotes social interaction and raises awareness of environmental protection and sustainability.
Further information:
Schönherr Landscape Architects PartmbB Wollankstraße 134 . 13187 Berlin Tel +49.30.235 91 80 60 Fax +49.30.235 91 80 61 www.schoenherr.la
