Located in Berlin Zehlendorf, Truman Plaza is part of a larger master plan that balances its historic context with the integration of a delicate onsite Grunewald forest. Offices, retail, health, and sports facilities shape an urban cluster around a public plaza within this leafy borough on berlin's edge; a series of staggered volumes' height graduations and setbacks provide a rhythm and framework, while a taller two-part structure anchors the plaza to its site. Depending on perspective, these individual buildings merge to create a cityscape, while the plaza establishes a meeting point for residents by acting as a social condenser. Pathways stem from this plaza to the Grunewald forest. Multiple terraces–at varying heights–define the ensemble's visual relationship to its site, which fosters 'interiority', while a small pavilion near the forest houses a café. As the Truman Plaza is situated on a highly frequented prelude en route to the center of Berlin, the importance of its public spaces goes beyond their immediate development, extending the adjacent and pre-existing green belt. This enables the emergence of a plaza at the corner of Argentinische Allee, which further shapes the entrance and defines the site.

Location
Clayallee 171, 173, 175, 177
16169 Berlin
Germany

Size
19.882 m2

Program
Health, Office, Retail, Sport

Date of design
2008-2011

Date of completion
2013

Project team
Wiel Arets, Bettina Kraus, Moritz Theden, Fabian Schwade, Ole Hallier, Tony Rhiem, Marco Houbertz, Matthias Bachmann, Marcel Moonen, Enno Efkes, Virginia Angell Harmsen, Inga Anger, Bruno Ebersbach, Jonas Klock, Sebastian Dillner, Jos Beekhuizen, Joana Varela

Collaborators
Beatriz Alés Gregori, Maria Zaghi, Maxim Krioukov

Client
Stofanel Investment AG  

Consultants
Gesellschaft für Technik am Bau GmbH, Ingenieure für Brandschutz GmbH, Müller BBM GmbH, FGS - Forschungs- und Planungsgruppe Stadt und Verkehr GbR, Vogt Landschaftsplaner GmbH, BAL Bauleitungs und Steuerungs GmbH