Two Parks at Potsdamer Platz

The Potsdamer Platz competition was the very first. project by GROSS. MAX. when the office only comprised of Bridget Baines, Eelco Hooftman and Nigel Sampey. Our proposals for the former no-man’s land between East and West Berlin were purposeful provocative. The two parks  have a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ opposite character. The triangular site envisaged as an extrovert tilted platform; its surface clad with the rooftops of former east Germany Trabi cars. Below the tilt a ‘bunker’ as hedonistic night club pleasure zone. The long linear site is envisaged as introvert pine woodland set with a sliding wall enclosure.  Towards the Landwehr Canal a raised landform act as open air solarium for the citizens of Berlin; its effect not unlike a Monkey Rock packed with self- exposing baboons. All competition ‘boards’ were hand drawn on 2.5 long layered transparent scrolls creating the effect of lines engraved in ice. For the competition explanation text we experienced with our first auto-interview format.  We used a similar format for our later Berlin competition forming a trilogy of Potzdamer Platz / Gleisdreieck and Tempelhof. Out of 154 entries we won our first competition prize; an honorary mention (‘Ankauf Award’). When collecting our ‘priceless’ award members of the jury whispered in our ear: “Next time more serious”.