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Working and Living in the City of Knowledge
What does it mean to work in the city today?"Today, working in the city means navigating a dynamic landscape where the boundaries between public and private, work and life, blur, demanding spaces that support both mobility and collaboration."
Dietmar Leyk, principal and founder
To work within the city of today is to engage with a milieu profoundly transformed by the onset of the twenty-first century. We find ourselves amidst a confluence of new circumstances, shifting values, revolutionary ideas, and groundbreaking inventions that have fundamentally altered our modes of working, living, and engaging in leisure. The principles of management and spatial organisation have evolved, leading to a labour environment that is both distributed and collaborative.
The once-clear demarcations between public and private, collective and individual spheres now blur, creating a dynamic interplay that redefines the relationship between private workspace and the public realm. Workers, in their newfound mobility, navigate a landscape of continuous accessibility, collaborating seamlessly across global time zones. This interconnectedness on an unprecedented scale demands that workers operate within a myriad of diverse cultural contexts.
The rise of egalitarian, multi-use environments — where working, residential, and cultural activities intertwine — underscores the obsolescence of rigid typologies such as traditional offices and central business districts. The Cities of Knowledge, an endeavour resulting from a design research project led by Dietmar Leyk in collaboration with Steelcase WorkSpace Futures, embodies this evolution. These projects illustrate that the most effective responses to contemporary working conditions are those that embrace spatial diversity and openness while maintaining the coherence of the urban fabric. Cities and architectures must now cater to a hybrid work-life model, addressing the future worker’s need for mobility, balance, and freedom.
Reflecting on the history of Berlin's river Spree reveals a narrative shaped by industrial transportation and an often-overlooked value of water as a transformative asset for urban living and working conditions. The site between Köpenicker Strasse and the Spree has been marked by political division and restricted access, resulting in a disconnect from the riverfront. This undervalued area presents an opportunity for reimagining its role. Could we transform this waterfront into a common space for citizens? Might the City of Knowledge serve as a pioneering model for a series of work-life projects along the river, with the Spree acting as a new structuring element for Berlin?
The northern banks of the Spree are undergoing development as “Media Spree,” a vibrant district integrating historical urban fabric with contemporary use. Could we contrast this by introducing a distinct spatial organisation on the southern side, thereby enhancing Berlin’s spatial diversity?
The City of Knowledge projects systematically explore concepts of boundaries and scales, not merely observing but actively reinterpreting and applying these concepts. They probe the ideological connections between buildings and their relationships with housing, transport systems, water, green spaces, agriculture, and wasteland. By treating the site as a unified civic entity, integrating various buildings into a cohesive whole, these projects aspire to enrich the surrounding city and provide a distinctive orientation. This approach aims to transform the site into a vital component that complements and interlinks the city’s clearly identifiable precincts.