Barcode Architects
& Habiter Autrement presented last week their competition entry for the new
multi-functional headquarter of EDEL AG in Berlin.
The 7-storey building is located on the Spandaur Schiffahrts Kanal and
will be in the future together with the opposite museum of modern art
"Hamburger Bahnhof" and the "Flick Art collection” an important
link in the development of the Berlin KunstCampus. The project contains
a strong mix of program with public functions as an art gallery, café, bookshop
and auditorium, versus private functions as the 3000m2 offices for Edel AG and the
exclusive penthouses. The diversity
of the program is by the architects translated in three different volumes which are vertically
stacked on top of one another. The expressions of these three volumes are
related, but adapted to the separate functions of the different parts.
The lower volume makes a strong interaction with the public space and
builds on the potentials of KunstCampus and the promenade along the canal,
creating a design that is inviting and proclaims the communication with its
surroundings. The enclosed central volume of the art gallery is flanked by two
double high spaces hosting the cafe, the bookshop, the auditorium and the office
lobby.
The flexible and functional office spaces for EDEL are situated over 3 floors in
the mid volume. The volume on top, delivers the building with its
unique exclusivity. The lower of the 2 levels takes full advantage of the
riverside location, with expansive balconies on both sides. This floor aims to
become the social focus point of the new HQ of EDEL AG, it creates space for
new ways of working and open communication in a relaxing, green and stimulating
environment. The last level of the upper volume is foreseen to accommodate the
penthouse, privately set back a top.
Barcode Architects:
The design is a unique addition to the KunstCampus and a modern
reinterpretation of the Berlin block with its typical ‘Lochafassade’. The simple but expressive ‘erscheinungsbild’
strengthens the identity of the EDEL AG being solid and at the same time
innovative company with a strong contemporary ‘Unternehmingskultur’.