On one wall of the corner house, the floor belongs to the district of Pankow, magnificent roses climb up even in the gray of January. On the side of the same building facing the Mitte district, on the other hand, there is a wasteland. Years ago, according to local legend, the thriving plants there had to be uprooted by order of “the authorities”.
Hopefully the office would decide differently today, as the administration also knows: climbing greenery warms the houses, courtyards and districts in winter, cools them gently in summer, keeps facades dry when used correctly, cleans the air of dust, relaxes with shimmering Play of colors for eyes that dry out in the home office, fights climate change. At best, spiders and beetles annoy some people – they indicate that the living environment is not yet completely poisoned.
For many architects, property managers and apparently also city administrations, green on facades and roofs is still an abomination. It destroys the beautiful straight lines. Leaves must be discarded. Freely roaming tendrils could whip pedestrians or even, unspeakable horror in motorists’ country, the paintwork of SUVs. In Berlin too, all attempts to systematically green the city vertically have failed because of such bogus arguments.
At least since the early 1980s, planners, ecologists and even sociologists have been demanding this: People like to come together to care for plants. We know from Amsterdam, Copenhagen, New York, Hamburg, Leipzig and even Berlin: even in so-called “problem areas”, flower beds and gardens tended together become respected sanctuaries.
But now there is hope for more vertical greenery: On January 1st, the new Berlin “GründachPlus” came into force, the successor to a funding program initiated in 2019. It says exactly what can be funded where and how. If you have a villa with a lot of garden in the green Zehlendorf, the chances are bad, with a house in the inner city districts and densely built-up areas up to Marzahn, Spandau and Lichtenrade, the chances are good.
However, new buildings don’t stand a chance. Thereby the real Babylonian Gardens can become. See the Torre Bosco in Milan. After all, funding is available from 10 square meters of wall area and roofs from 100 square meters. So now only the owners have to play along, realizing: Every green is good. And more green is better green. Even when it’s scrolling. And then the districts must not interfere. And the preservation of monuments. The water protection. The car lobby … Oh Berlin.
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