In the winter of 2015/2016, a daily influx of around 1000 new refugees quickly exhausted Berlin's initial reception capacities. The responsible authorities tried to find accommodation in gyms and vacant buildings. When capacities were quickly exhausted here too, the decision was made to convert the hangars of the former Tempelhof Airport into emergency accommodation and to open an arrival center there.

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For the hangars and the apron of the airport, various other plans for their use were already in place. These plans were set up and looked after by a wide variety of public authorities. The responsibilities for the building were different from those for the outside area. In short, various actors had to be brought together for the acute emergency situation in order to enable joint planning.

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In February 2016, MTS received the mandate to coordinate and design an integrated planning of the location with all stakeholders. Within three intensive months, a coordinated target image was created in intermediate steps, which contained a catalog of measures and a zoning of the location. The design of a so-called integrated planning office, which coordinated all actors and empowered them to collaborate, was decisive for the success of the project. This enabled solutions to be found in the joint design across departmental boundaries that brought previous plans for the airport into line with its use as accommodation for refugees.