climate change – plants – 22 LiMa Orangerie

The orangery as a garden opportunity is a specific feature of the LiMa Wohnhof Berlin site – a social housing complex designed by the architect Herman Hertzberger in 1984. The staircases are not heated and are glazed. Technically speaking, they are cold houses that provide the ideal temperature and humidity conditions for the citrus plants. The idea of the orangery came to me by accident, but the architecture was a prerequisite because it provided this possibility.

The architecture of the unheated “vertical streets”as well as the projections, landings and steps, make it possible to create spaces for potted plants so that the trees can rest here in the winter quarters without disturbing the use of the stairwell by the residents.