by David Sands
Richard Rogers Partnership have triumphed in a major international architectural competition for a 323,000-sq ft shop and office complex at the commercial heart of Berlin. The new 18-storey building, described by Rogers as a “powerful landmark”, will lie alongside the blitzed remains of the city’s famous World War Memorial Church, at the head of premier shopping street the Kurfurstendamm.
To be developed by site owners Braun und Brunnen, the project will have two levels of shopping with offices and a hotel above, and feature a 10-storey atrium. It will incorporate the main line station, Berlin Zoo, tube stations and connect with several shopping areas, including the Ku’damm.
The site must be one of the city’s more valuable and there is likely to be huge demand for space in the scheme — not least because of the architects’ worldwide cachet; in addition, the demolition of the Berlin Wall a year ago caused a tidal wave of demand for commercial property in the city. A recent Jones Lang Wootton report on Berlin pointed to spiralling property prices and the inability of the market to meet unprecedented demand.
Rogers beat an impressive array of world design talent including: Martorell/Bohigas Mackay Arcquitectes, Barcelona; Manolo Nunes Yarnowskyk, Paris; BJSS Bangert Jansen Scholz Schultes, Berlin; and ELW Elyl, Weitz Wurmle & Partner, Berlin.
An unashamedly modern building, it will “symbolise the rejuvenation of Berlin after the fall of the wall”, say the architects.
The Rogers’ scheme is not the first British design win in the city: in March architects DEGW won a competition held by the Senate of Berlin for a £100m office project in the Wedding district, close to the city’s geographical centre, Friedrichstrasse. The architects, along with Foster Associates and four other international practices, are also being considered for a 100-acre dockland regeneration scheme in the city of Duisburg.
YRM have been selected by Channel 4 to plan the building services for their Rogers-designed new headquarters in Victoria, SW1, after a limited competition.
