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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 demonstrates the power of adaptive reuse — a former department store, built in East Berlin in 1979, reimagined as an office space for contemporary work life.

Triangular prisms were cut into each side of the building, bringing natural light into the interior and breaking up the monolithic geometry. Along with these openings, a series of terraces were integrated, and the ascending floors carefully twisted. These features create open views of Berlin from all directions. Each of the floors have access to outdoor communal spaces for working and relaxing. The preexisting building was stripped down to its structural concrete columns and floor plates, then wrapped in glass. What was once a closed-off shopping center has become an outward-looking urban hub of productivity and creativity.






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