DKB Green Harbour Campus
Green Harbour reimagines the relationship between city, water and landscape through the transformation of Berlin’s Nordhafen basin into a productive ecological infrastructure. Conceived as a floating landscape, the project combines biodiversity, recreation, environmental education, food production and public life within a flexible modular system capable of evolving over time.
Located adjacent to the future DKB Campus and within a historically significant urban setting, the proposal establishes a dialogue between contemporary ecological design and the cultural heritage of Berlin’s waterfront. The site lies in close proximity to the historic park landscapes designed by Peter Joseph Lenné, one of the most influential landscape architects of nineteenth-century Europe. This unique context informed the project’s ambition to extend the tradition of integrating nature, public space and urban infrastructure into a contemporary framework.
Rather than introducing a singular architectural object, Green Harbour proposes a living system. A series of interconnected floating platforms create a resilient ecosystem where natural processes and human activities coexist. Water becomes both the physical medium and the organizing principle of the project, supporting a network of ecological, productive and recreational environments.
The proposal is structured around a family of specialized modules that operate independently while contributing to the performance of the overall system. Ecological filtration basins planted with native species improve water quality and provide habitats for local flora and fauna. Floating wetland forests recreate the characteristic floodplain landscapes of the Brandenburg region, introducing shade, biodiversity and seasonal change to the harbour environment.
Productive garden modules integrate aquaponic systems that connect fish tanks and hydroponic cultivation areas through closed nutrient cycles. These landscapes function simultaneously as urban agriculture, educational infrastructure and experimental platforms for future food production models within dense metropolitan environments.
Complementing these ecological systems, Green Harbour incorporates a diverse public programme including swimming areas, Kneipp therapeutic pools, leisure spaces, cultural activities, gardens and flexible event platforms. The project transforms the harbour into a new civic destination where environmental awareness, recreation and social interaction become part of everyday urban life.
The modular nature of the intervention allows the landscape to adapt to changing demands, seasonal conditions and future developments. Individual elements can be added, removed or reconfigured while maintaining the integrity of the overall ecological network. This adaptability establishes Green Harbour not only as a design proposal, but as a framework for long-term urban transformation.
By merging landscape architecture, ecological engineering and public space design, Green Harbour proposes a new model for waterfront regeneration. The project demonstrates how floating infrastructures can contribute to environmental restoration, activate underused urban waters and create meaningful connections between people and natural systems.
