Referring to the site of B:HUB, an imposing 980-foot-long by 140-foot-high office complex skirting the S-Bahn in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district, architect Frank Barkow says, “We call this an infrastructural infill condition. It’s a site typology that keeps coming up in our work.” Similar overlooked properties scattered along this surface-rail system intrigue Barkow and partner Regine Leibinger for their development potential, particularly as local real-estate values rise, and they become more attractive for large-scale interventions that could enrich urban life (an interest the duo explored in design studios they conducted at Princeton University from 2016 to 2019.)

The linear structure stretches between the city’s gritty S-Bahn tracks and its verdant Stralau Peninsula, a residential area. Photo © Iwan Baan, click to enlarge.