Opposite the Kleiner Tiergarten park, a high-end mixed-use residential and commercial building whose details respond to the heterogeneous urban context is now under construction at the intersection of Stromstraße and Turmstraße. The new development closes the perimeter of the block, and where it adjoins the neighboring buildings, it adopts their alignments and heights. The design is guided equally by the principles of compactness and simple construction. The design and material concept specifies a durable precast concrete facade that offers an outward appearance that is restrained but accentuated. Within the urban setting, the facade adapts the features of the surrounding masonry buildings in multifaceted ways: The traditional tripartite division into base, middle zone, and roof undergoes a subtle refinement that is expressed by increasing the depth of the reveals as they move up the building. The partially recessed base with its large-scale grid integrates the historic monument, the retail floors, and the specially articulated entrances to the office and residential sections. The windows, designed as box-type double windows with sound-attenuating baffle panes set in front, articulate the recesses of the facade with their anodized aluminum frames. This refinement achieves its strongest impact toward the intersection of Turmstraße and Stromstraße.


work phase 1-4, 2019-2022
competition: 1st prize
BGF: 27.500 m²
residences: 120
builder: MC Bauinvest GmbH
place: Berlin
pictures: Steimle Architekten BDA with loomn