Office building at Schinkelplatz, Berlin

Commercial building at Schinkelplatz features exciting punctuated facade

The new building at Schinkelplatz in Berlin is part of an ensemble that has revived the historic square opposite the Humboldt Forum. The commercial building impresses with a finely detailed punctuated facade made of whitewashed concrete that is reminiscent of the bossing of historical ground floors, with the facade becoming increasingly more intricate as your eye moves upwards. The profiled concrete frames of the windows and the relief texture of the facade create a lively interplay of light and shadow.

The windows are designed to have a larger percentage of glass the higher they are located, while deep-set lower lights offer a view of Schinkelplatz. On the ground floor, this principle is reversed to emphasise the base area. This carefully designed facade blends seamlessly and with confidence into its historical surroundings and gives the building a unique identity.

The project was awarded the AIT Office Application Award in 2017 and received first prize in the competition in 2012. Planning began in 2013 and was completed in 2016. The gross floor area is 3,600 m².