Located in a suburban area of Berlin, the new building designed by Brandlhuber together with Emde, Burlon + Muck Petzet combines different forms of use. The choice to combine more activities within it derives from a clause of the 1958 master plan that only allows the construction of commercial buildings; a clause which – however – provides that the entire area should remain predominantly residential. For this reason the designers have thought of a new building that could be transformed – with time – even into residential units. The project dialogues with the context of this difficult part of the city characterized by buildings from the early 1900s; a typological and language change – which according to the designers – deliberately wants to come into conflict with this peripheral area of the Berlin city.
A wide view becomes a design and formal pretext to create a contemporary ziggurat formed by the offset of the floors with the insertion of large terraces 6 meters deep which take on the role of semi-public space and connection with the interior environments. On the ground floor a large semi-covered space open to the city is created thanks to the offset of the upper floors; a 7.5 meter deep public square creates a filter with the most private rooms on the ground floor. The depth of the environments varies according to the planes: from the 26 meters of the ground floor up to the 11 meters of the last floor.
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All Rights reserved to Brandlhuber, Emde, Burlon, Muck Petzet
Photos by Erica Overmeer