New building development with a hotel, an apartment building and two office buildings, commercial use on ground floors.

Stone setting

City Quartier "DomAquarée" is an ensemble of four buildings on the site of the former Palace Hotel between the Berliner Dom, Museum Island and Alexanderplatz. It is a composition of a hotel with a conference center, two office buildings, a residential building and a variety of shops and dining options. The ensemble is very popular among visitors due to its exclusive location.

Each building is a variation of the whole through the harmonious use of the natural stone facades. Unusually arched glass roofs cover the hotel and the large office building. The atriums as well as the streets are covered by canopies made of an “intelligent” climate responsive transparent high-tech foil. Due to its lightweight only minimal structure is needed. One can experience the height of the spacious atriums from the luxurious panoramic elevators, which complement the horizontal circulation.

The location on the Spree waterfront becomes a theme of the ensemble. The water theme is carried throughout the interior and exterior of the complex in multiple different ways. It expands along the river Spree promenade with the wide café front creating a public space. It then continues through the interactive fountain art piece at the “Plaza of Times” in the middle of the four buildings and culminates at the Sea-Life-Center under the atrium in the large office building. One discovers a variety of unique worlds on the interior of the four buildings. They reveal themselves like treasures in a jewelry box and culminate at the AquaDom, the world’s largest freestanding aquarium, which is located at the center of the hotel atrium.

From the very first glance, there is no mistaking that the solitary body of the Radisson-SAS hotel fits into its contextual surroundings and belongs to the ensemble. The image of the exterior, made distinct by its unique detailing in the natural stone treatment and the contrast between sculptural-stone upper floors and membrane-thin roof skin, is visually related to the neighboring office block by its linking of stones at the building foundation and two-story glass roof. The rhythm then continues in the detailing of the Spree promenade.

However, the building has a strong identity: when one enters the courtyard one is immediately engulfed by an extraordinary view of the world’s tallest saltwater aquarium. The ultimate presence of the leitmotif is embodied in a 16-meter tall column of water, which is contained in a seamlessly welded acrylic cylinder, 11 meters in diameter. One can experience the aquatic life during the several minute long ride in a glass elevator. The aquarium, as a central focal point, provides the necessary distance, intimacy and views for the hotel rooms, located along the perimeter of the atrium.

The two office buildings, similar to the hotel, have six floors and a penthouse. The entrance area of the larger office building on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße is equipped with two escalators, a staircase and a handicap accessible elevator, which lead visitors to the impressive atrium on the second level. The water theme comes back into play: dancing reflections of the waterfalls between the escalators and water flowing down the interior walls accompany the visitor on his way. The atrium space contains eight panoramic elevators and four round stairwells. Each stairwell is paired with two elevators to serve various office floors. All of the office areas are divided into rentable sections ranging in size. Each rentable section has access to one of the four core stairwells.

The residential building in the quiet area of the Spree promenade, just before the museum bridge, encompasses six upper floors and two penthouse floors above the shops and hotel conference areas at the ground floor. The set back of the floors defines both a strong connection to the ensemble as well as a smooth transition to the proportions of the neighboring buildings. The façade of the building gains its residential character through the use of natural stone balustrades. The courtyard above the conference area is enclosed from three sides and landscaped as a roof terrace.

The residential building can be accessed through the two entrance halls from the reconstructed, historic Wolfgangstrasse. One is led to the luxurious apartments through the naturally lit double height hallways. The connection to the street traffic is established through an underground parking area underneath the entire complex.

Oak floors and floor to ceiling doors emphasize the openness of the apartments, which vary in size and number of rooms, and can also include a mezzanine floor. The kitchens and bathrooms are equipped according to a very high standard. Large pivoting wing elements and floor to ceiling glass openings to balconies and terraces provide a direct relationship to the city landscape on the River Spree, the Cathedral and Museum Island.