MVRDV has completed work on a vibrant new conversion project in Berlin called HAUS 1 that reworked an aging office building from 1997 into a new hub for innovation and community.
Other than the eye-catching canary color finish, the project is visually dominated by an extended grand external staircase. A new terraced timber pavilion space is enacted on the rooftop, completed by an arrangement of native plants and constructed using a palette of bio-based materials. Inside, floorplans are altered to maximize flexibility. Other important aspects of the design include low-temperature underfloor heating and a rainwater harvesting system that will help the building to function sustainably year-round.
MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs says: “The newly transformed HAUS 1 is more than a gateway to this unique campus devoted to impact. It is a representation of the Atelier Gardens community and their commitment to chart a different vision of society — one that’s optimistic, yet radical and innovative. With this second project in our master plan, we join them on this mission and invite more people to follow.”
The project forms part of the Atelier Gardens master plan aimed at the southern portion of the city’s decommissioned former Tempelhof Airport and follows the firm’s TON 1 renovation of a historic film studio at the site, which was completed last year.
The larger plan is meant to expand the presence of the Berliner Union Film Ateliers (or BUFA) to include spaces for climate justice groups and other forms of social activism. London-based developer Fabrix is the client, and the renovations are complemented by an “ecologically-minded” landscape design from Harris Bugg Studio that helps to unify its total 256,000-square-foot site.
“Atelier Gardens is a model for bringing purpose in line with future-proofed profit. In just a few years, we have broadened the use of the campus from film and media to a diverse community of progressive impact organisations,” Clive Nichol, a Managing Partner of Fabrix, describes in a news release.
“This shift has diversified the income profile, giving the campus permanent life, in contrast to the coming-and-going of film productions and technological risk,” he added finally, speaking of the development's tenants. “Means-tested rent allows high-quality space to be provided more cheaply to start-ups, activist groups and NGOs, while established companies, who want to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of co-locating, are charged more. It's a resilient model which we believe sets a new standard for the future of mixed-use campuses.”
Berlin-based Hirschmüller Schindele Architekten also contributed to the design as a co-architects.
For floor plans, sections, and elevations of HAUS 1, check out the image gallery below.
6 Comments
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Put this in context with the staid buildings surrounding. It reflects their simplicity, banality even, and energizes it, while at the same time provides a focal point, a promotion for the area. Much is done with little. This is a place to get some day-to-day work done that might, in fact, be vital, even exciting.
Do we think that 5 story stair was added for roof egress?
I don't see people ever really traipsing to the mid-height landing just to hang out or eat lunch.
Good point. But (not knowing anything about this project) I could see (i) reprogramming a roof for shared occupancy, (ii) needing to provide an additional exit, and (iii) thinking "design opportunity!" then using part of the site to hold a big sculptural stair. In that scenario, the stair is a big feature on its own that might never get used functionally-- but will get photographed a lot.
Exactly. Yellow stairs, out in the open, are loosely symbolic—of something. People will pass by and think about them all day.
This reminds me of what Eric Moss has attempted in the Hayden Tract of Culver City. (NOT the Fettucine Plaza tower, but the re-use of old industrial structures and addition of bold accent elements.)
A large part of what attracts me to the project is that it makes use of what we already have and only accents those bland buildings, making the whole area distinctive. We have limited resources, and maybe a shift in orientation is all it takes.
This is supposed to be some kind of innovation district, and I think these simple functional buildings are best suited for that purpose. Focus on what you're doing without pretense or distraction, let innovation come from the mind, not the architecture. There's a piece in ArchDaily on innovation districts
https://www.archdaily.com/1010101/what-are-innovation-districts?utm_medium=email&utm_source=AD%20EN&kth=546,329&mc_cid=710e5bd82f&mc_eid=9c32211eef
and I think some of these designs are precious and overwrought. They are expensive, and they will grow old.
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