Berlin’s decommissioned airport at Tegel is being reimagined as an urban tech launchpad with plans to recast the area as an industrial tech hub and a sandbox to test out future urban technologies. The Federal Government and the State of Berlin develop the area – known as the Berlin Tech Republic - as a living urban laboratory, an experimental hub for innovative tech research and businesses that could shape the cities of the future.

In collaboration with Transsolar, EPEA, PCH, and GRAFT Brandlab, we have created a vision for this new urban quarter that puts sustainability and innovation firmly at the top of its agenda. Set out over more than 200 hectares, The Urban Tech Republic will bring together start-ups, academic research institutions, and industry leaders, creating a tech ecosystem that fosters collaboration.

Urban regeneration offers cities a unique opportunity to accelerate the progress of sustainability goals while creating innovative, future-proof environments. The Urban Tech Republic in north-west Berlin is a unique urban regeneration project that will redevelop some of the airport's existing facilities, such as the terminal building and hangars, to create an experimental hub for innovative tech research and businesses, while also building some 5,000 new sustainable homes.

Horizon scanning: developing a sustainable vision 

Boasting an unrivalled location only 15 minutes from the centre of the city, The Urban Tech Republic would be a place where ideas take flight. Arup’s Foresight team held a range of workshops and meetings to help the client develop a sustainable vision for the area. The team distilled some key themes around green infrastructure, urban water management, and the use of digital technologies among others.

Green infrastructure fosters healthier living

Green infrastructure is the articulating tenet for this vision of The Urban Tech Republic, intended to improve air quality and reduce noise pollution, significantly boosting quality of life and overall wellbeing in the district. Supporting the principle of sourcing locally, the plan envisions urban orchards that could supply food to retailers and offices in the area.

CGI of the Urban Tech Republic living urban laboratory

Tegel airport will become a living urban laboratory, and an experimental hub for research and businesses. © Tegel Projekt GmbH / GRAFT Architekten

Urban quarter in the Urban Tech Republic CGI

Green infrastructure is the articulating tenet for the vision of The Urban Tech Republic, intended to improve air quality and reduce noise pollution, significantly boosting quality of life and overall wellbeing in the district. © Tegel Projekt GmbH / Atelier-Loidl

Circular economy principles underpin this smart hub

As a lab for new approaches to city living, circular economy principles were high on the agenda, with materials being a key focus. The vision looks at buildings as ‘material banks’ to maximise the re-using and recycling of materials while reducing construction and demolition-related waste. By integrating the use of innovative ‘digital twins’ – a dynamic building that feeds performance data back to an identical digital model to track performance – together with virtual material passports to enabling the tracking and repurposing of a piece of material in a way that it expands its entire lifecycle.

The tech hub would be serviced by a resilient – and possibly self-sufficient – infrastructure framework, including a decentralised energy supply network as well as a sustainable waste management system. The water management would be designed to recover nutrients from the water cycle through a decentralised treatment of wastewater streams.

Digital lifeblood: a connected environment to optimise user experience

From the micro all the way to a macro level, digital technologies would enable a smart, more efficient operation of The Urban Tech Republic while significantly improving user experience. Building will be upgraded to optimise energy use, while a set of apps enable improved wayfinding and mobility within the campus.

The drive to create an energy-efficient, environmentally friendly tech hub has won the project a platinum DGNB (German Sustainability Building Council) sustainability pre-certificate, the first ever commercial quarter to receive this award. 

Partners & collaborators

Transsolar / EPEA / PCH