Common Ground

1. Ground and height: three storeys are a design preference, not a Berlin soil limit. Foundations depend on the plot's layers, groundwater and building loads. Two schematic cellar levels are included, approximately 3.3 m and 6.6 m below the ground-floor level. This is a design choice, not a Berlin-wide basement-depth limit. Its depth and footprint are illustrative, and foundation dimensions are not specified. Feasibility, waterproofing, groundwater pressure, uplift, excavation and ventilation need site-specific design. A real project needs a site-specific geotechnical investigation, structural design and planning review. Berlin: building ground · Berlin: groundwater.
2. Automation: the kitchen is conventional. The farm and proposed laundry-bag handling remain future-facing experiments; cleaning and maintenance still need human oversight. The farm supplements food purchases; it is not assumed to feed everyone.
3. Energy: the folding solar roof is speculative. Printed solar is not automatically foldable: a real design would need modules with a validated bend radius, suitable encapsulation, electrical connections, hinges, wind restraints, and safe operating clearances. No price saving, output, or energy-autonomy claim is made.
4. Layout: half the solar field folds toward the edge to release terrace space. The railings are schematic tall guards with spaces between upright bars; actual height and spacing need professional design. A lift and two stair cores are reserved; their sizes, escape routes, accessibility, services, fire separation, and roof loads still need professional design. The suite count and occupancy are illustrative. All 24 suites remain above ground; basement services free living space upstairs. The deep indoor bike garage needs a suitably sized lift and practical access. A separate walking-bike ramp annex illustrates an 8% route down to both basement levels, with 82.5 m of sloping run plus level landings. It is not certified as wheelchair accessible and needs drainage, weather protection and detailed usability design.
5. Word choice: “Gemeinschaft” or “Kommune” fits the community you describe. “Gesellschaft” can mean society or a company.

Facade gallery — four walls, four themes. These are my thematic readings for the community, rather than claims about the artists' intended meanings:

1. Growth & connection: Hilma af Klint, Tree of Knowledge, No. 1 (1913), front wall. Intertwining roots, branches and organic forms. Artwork source.
2. Life across generations: Hilma af Klint, The Ten Largest, No. 9, Old Age (1907), rear wall. Soft colour, paired forms and cycles of life. Artwork source.
3. Shared energy & joy: Robert Delaunay, Circular Forms, left wall. Different colours and rhythms coexist in one composition. Artwork source.
4. Quiet persistence: Paul Klee, Sparse Foliage (1934), right wall. Delicate branching forms suggest growth without spectacle. Artwork source.

Artwork images are embedded for offline viewing. They cover all four facades with windows and the entrance left visible. The broad walls repeat the portrait-format motifs to avoid severe cropping; the side walls use landscape works. Aspect ratios are preserved, with only about 3–12% edge cropping per motif. Rotate the building to see each exterior wall.

Laundry choice: separate washers and dryers are shown. Miele also makes combined washer-dryers; the WTD163 example washes 8 kg but dries 5 kg. Manufacturer specifications.

Basement feasibility: two underground storeys are an exploration option. Berlin's guidance says inner-city projects with more than one underground storey should generally use a watertight excavation enclosure. More basement levels cannot be chosen responsibly from a city-wide floor count; plot-specific engineering and economics decide the practical depth. Berlin groundwater and excavation guidance.