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JASPER ARCHITECTS

PROJECT ထ
UP! BERLIN


THE CHALLENGE WAS TO CREATE SPACES CAPABLE OF HOUSING WORKING ENVIRONMENTS INTO THE MASSIVE 80M X 80M EXISTING BUILDING BLOCK.

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WAS TO BRING NATURAL LIGHTING INTO THE BUILDING. A FIRST CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS WAS TO FIND A GEOMETRY THAT WOULD MAKE A PERFORATION POSSIBLE IN ORDER TO FIND AN EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN THE MINIMUM LOSS OF REAL ESTATE AND THE MAXIMUM GAIN OF NATURALLY LIT SPACE. THIS WAS FOUNT TO BE A TRIANGULAR CUT-OUT.

THE IDEA THEN WAS TO USE THE CUT OUT SPACE ALSO TO LOOSEN UP THE MONOLITHIC GEOMETRY OF THE EXISTING BUILDING, BY BRINGING THE CUT OUT VOLUMES TO THE FOUR FAÇADES.

THE “LOST” REAL ESTATE OF THE CUT OUT VOLUMES IS ADDED ON THE TOP OF THE EXISTING STRUCTURE, COMPENSATING THE LOSS OF SURFACE AREA.

THE RESULT IS AN OPEN BUILDING ON ALL FOUR SIDES, REDEFINING THE BUILDING’S URBAN PRESENCE ENTIRELY.

BY SHIFTING THE EDGES OF THE BUILDING, THE VIEWS AND PERSPECTIVES FROM INSIDE VARY.

THE SHIFTED EDGES ARE THEN TERRACED TO GENERATE USABLE EXTERIOR SPACES OF ALL VARIETIES ON EVERY FLOOR AND EVERY SIDE OF THE BUILDING.

THE TERRACED VOLUMES WERE THEN OPTIMIZED STRUCTURALLY, AS WELL AS FOR LIGHTING AND INTERIOR LAYOUT FUNCTIONALITY.

UP! Berlin: Transforming Berlin's Old Shopping Mall Into A Transparent Mixed-Use Office Building

In 2016 JASPER ARCHITECTS won the competition organized by Signa, Austria’s largest privately owned real estate company, for an over-all
redesign of the Building of the former "Centrum Warenhaus" of the GDR built in 1979.

The competition task was to present a concept to turn this massive square building block of 80m length and 80m width into usable office space, generating future work places for the digital era.

The biggest challenge was to bring natural lighting into the building.
The presented idea was to cut triangular shaped prisms on each side of the square building to flood the interior with natural light and by this loosen up the massive monolithic geometry of the existing building. These created voids redefine the building’s urban presence entirely, opening the volume up on all four sides.

These cuts, as well a strategic terracing and twisting of the floors, optimize views to central Berlin. All floors have access to outdoor communal spaces for working, entertaining and relaxing.

To compensate for the cut-out real estate sqm, two floors are added on the top. A big roof top terrace creates an amazing view on Berlin.

For the redesign, the existing Building is stripped down to its structural concrete columns and floorplates. Wrapped in high-quality glass, what was once an interior-focused shopping center has been reimagined as an outwardly-focused center for productivity, creativity and community.






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