Architecture studio FAR has built a six-storey housing block in Berlin from precast concrete slabs.
Named Wohnregal, the warehouse-style block was constructed form prefabricated concrete elements, with pillars and beams that support slabs to create the potential for wide-open rooms.
Sliding glass doors cover two facades
The individual stories have no structural walls inside and span 13 metres from the facade to facade. Occupants can insert their own drywalls into the spaces to divide them according to their lifestyles.
A type of precast concrete beams called TT-beams were used for the construction.
Stainless steel mesh screens the external stairs
Two curtain walls on Wohnregal's east and west facade are formed by floor-to-ceiling glass doors, turning the sheltered spaces into covered balconies and walkways. The sliding glass doors can be opened in summer to naturally ventilate the building.
Outdoor staircases covered with stainless steel mesh zigzag up the side of the building, turning a functional element into a visual part of the block's facade.
Prefabricated concrete elements took just six weeks to assemble
The decision to use prefabricated materials was motivated by Berlin's increasingly expensive house prices and a desire to change preconceptions about prefabricated design as too prescriptive
"The ambition was to bridge two apparently contradictory challenges the housing market in Berlin is facing," said FAR.

"Industrial prefabrication offers the ben...