Wulfric Clackson

Abstract

Living Bridges explores how humans and nature may coexist in urban environments. It challenges the typical structures of the city and explores alternative forms, giving more space for people to dwell, and more connection to the city’s non-human inhabitants.

The project looks at how the structure of the city fragments wildlife, and how we can repurpose existing infrastructure to reconnect it. Focusing on the rail lines which served the former Anhalter Bahnhof in Berlin, Living Bridges studies how the decay of this infrastructure creates ideal spaces for the creation of a wildlife corridor.

This route has gaps however. Here architectural intervention is required. The largest such gap is at the Südkreuz rail station. To bridge it, the project takes heavy inspiration from nature, and the work of Hans Scharoun and Paolo Portoghesi. It creates an ecoduct, entwined in complex series of buildings, which are reflective of the fractal complexity of the natural world, a contrast to the rigid forms presently on the site.

Housing is in dire need in Berlin, so the project looks at how housing may be integrated into the corridor, allowing both humans and non-humans to coexist. Referencing Soft City, by David Sim, the project challenges the present structures of the city and aims to create a richer, more diverse place to live.