Spreestudios – Platte and Kantine

Berlin

In the 1920s, this place was a magnet for the public - the Lichtenberg municipal bathing establishment was located here, with up to 17,000 visitors a day. At the beginning of the 1950s, the customs administration of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) was set up here to monitor the Spree and remained in place until the 1990s.

In the following decades (1990 to today), the area was not used. Nature reclaimed the area - the former open-air swimming pool became an enchanted natural site - “nature took over”. Only two historic buildings survive from the time of the river baths: the former restaurant and the bath attendant's house. Two of the former three swimming pools have now been converted into a small marina with a waterline of around 200 meters.

In addition to the two listed buildings, two buildings from the GDR era have been preserved and are being converted and extended - the former GDR customs administration office building - “Platte” - and the associated former “Kantine”.

The site has remained completely unchanged to date. It is located at the widest point of the Spree (approx. 1.3 km) with an exceptional view of the “Insel der Jugend” and the Spreepark opposite and has a beautiful south-west orientation. The condition and atmosphere of the area provide ideal conditions as a film and photo location or for private and public events for up to 8,000 people.

With the “Spreestudios” site, the “Venturenauten” are realizing their first project directly on the Spree, in the Rummelsburg district of Berlin. Creative minds, organizers and free thinkers will find perfect conditions for setting up their studios, for variable and above all original spaces for exhibitions and events. The existing buildings will be respected and renovated. The density will not be maximized. A limited amount of additional construction is planned - in the form of additional storeys. The aim is to create a place of inspiration with sweeping views over the Spree and the city. A place that offers synergies to different users on the site in a very relaxed way. Between all the studio and workshop areas, the landscape remains very important as a connecting element. The open spaces of the former sunbathing lawn are to be generously preserved and will continue to define the character of the site in the future.

The existing floor plans were cleared and transformed into “open space offices”, the supporting structure was exposed, the surfaces were kept largely “rough” and glazed in color. Installations were bundled together and the Elo sub-distribution was laid visibly.

The additions to the existing buildings were constructed using the same system, utilizing the existing load reserves in steel (columns and beams) and reinforced concrete (ceilings).

Kantine

The single-storey former canteen building has three storeys with different storey heights, the outer wall is made of standardized aerated concrete elements in free laying with different widths, lengths and thicknesses. A particularly cost-effective construction that can be budgeted at just €280/m2 GFA (columns, beams, ceiling panels, façade elements).

The arrangement of the differently dimensioned elements gives this industrial façade a strong plasticity - similar to the original, plastically formed façade panels. The thickness of these aerated concrete elements meets the requirements of ENeV. It is monolithic and requires no additional thermal insulation. The surfaces are plastered in two layers and the surface texture and color are adapted to the existing StBn prefabricated elements.

Platte

The three-storey administration building will be extended by a double attic storey, the outer wall of which will also be constructed from standardized aerated concrete elements on a steel structure. The shape of the mansard is reminiscent of boats on a keel. The roofing of fired, flat tiles looks like the scales of a reptile. The roof surface can be walked on and extends the outdoor area of the Spree studios.

ConcreteMixedOfficePublic

Awards

Iconic Award

2020

Site Plan
Floorplan Ground Floor
Floorplan 3rd Floor
Section Platte

Data

Completion

Platte 08.2019
Kantine 02.2020

Address

Köpenicker Chaussee 3 a+b
10317 Berlin

Client

Platte: Realace / Sendlinger+Conrads GbR
Kantine: Axel Schukies, Berlin

Partner

Fire protection:
BBIG Berliner Brandschutz Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH, Berlin
Supporting structure / ENEV / Building acoustics:
IB Bauwesen Horn GmbH, Leipzig
TGA: 
Janowski & Co Beratende Ingenieure GmbH, Berlin

Detail Roof
Detail Facade

Related projects

The New Leitz

Stuttgart

Leitz has long been a family business with an important history for the region and Germany. Intelligent innovations in the product range and production methods have guaranteed the company a secure position in the market for generations. Entrepreneurial wisdom and technical experimentation have also had a recognizable influence on the development of the buildings on the Leitz site in every phase of the company's development: demand-oriented construction, establishing the idea of the “multi-storey factory” as the maximum flexible building form for adapting to changing production requirements or working conditions, careful handling of the public outdoor spaces through contemporary façade solutions, etc. “Keeping things in proportion” was the motif - today we call it “sustainability”.

"THE NEW LEITZ" - International Green Startup Campus

In the future, “resources” will be thought of, developed and produced here in an overarching, networked way. By “resource” we mean cultural and social resources as well as individual or communal, technical and artistic, material, (production) processes, e.g. recycling. Lateral thinking is desired, networked thinking across borders is the goal: “International Green Startup Campus”, an accelerator that consciously seeks proximity to local companies and universities.

We want to create an inspiring place that brings people together to think about contemporary issues in a cross-cultural, multi-professional way. It is an educational project, a project for development, a project for production - a cluster in the best sense of the word.

To achieve this goal, we want to change the atmosphere in the area. People must be able to work and - temporarily - live here. We are removing buildings that are not protected and adding another building to the still rudimentary ensemble of buildings along Sieglestrasse, the future “Leitz Boulevard” (Area Management City of Stuttgart). This will create public and semi-public spaces for people who work or live here. It will be quiet, the surfaces will be unsealed and the uses will be mixed.

HotelLivingMixedPublic

Data

Completion

In Planning

Address

Siemensstrasse 64/
Sieglestrasse 2
70469 Stuttgart

Client

LIANEO

Partner

Interior Architecture:
bueroZ, Stuttgart

Floorplan Ground Floor
Elevation Leitz-Boulevard

Related projects

Densification at RWI 4

Düsseldorf

RWI 4 was originally built in 1974 as a bank building and formally corresponds to the representative requirements of companies in the financial and insurance sector at the time. Today, the company no longer exists.

Two twelve-storey office towers currently stand on a two-storey base structure on the extensive site. Underneath, 501 parking spaces are organized on two underground parking levels, which are accessed via an expansive access spindle. We are proposing structural additions to this existing building consisting of two structures: the “Loretto Terraces” on Neusser Strasse and the “LorettoLoretto” in the central location. The three new buildings are intended for residential use with different residential typologies. A total of around 90 apartments are to be built.

Loretto Terraces

A centrally accessed building with six residential storeys on a commercially used first floor, which terraces into the site from Neusser Straße and thus reinterprets the public space/airspace. It reaches a building height of approx. 21.70 m. With the exception of the residents' entrances to the central stairwell and some ancillary/technical rooms, the ground floor is exclusively commercial space. The apartments on the upper floors are grouped around a common atrium with a safety staircase and elevator. Here there are 34 residential units with 2 - 4 rooms and living spaces ranging from 45 m2 to 117 m2. The distribution of the units around the atrium allows the apartments to face in two directions. Each apartment has a private outdoor area - in the form of a loggia or terrace. The staircase connects the above-ground floors with a two-storey basement, which extends the existing underground garage to compensate for the additional parking space required.

LorettoLoretto

The second building, “LorettoLoretto”, articulates the southern edge of the future town square on the neighboring plot - it will thus become a neighborhood amenity. Commercial space will be created on the first floor - preferably with public facilities such as restaurants, cafés, etc. Above this, the building has six full storeys with purely residential use and one with roof gardens, some of which are directly assigned to individual apartments (families) and others are available to the building community.

This building will be constructed above the existing underground parking garage and will therefore have a basement. Entrances to the stairwells are located on the west façade and the east façade. Access to the upper floors is via 2 stairwells and elevators, which are connected to the upper floors via a central corridor. The building will contain 48 residential units with 2-4 rooms and living spaces ranging from 33 m2 to 127 m2. In addition to the multi-storey apartments, maisonettes will be created with a two-sided orientation - due to the conical floor plan structure to the NW and SW. All apartments will have private loggias or access to the communal roof terrace (SW).

The apartments are evenly connected to two access cores, one of which leads to the underground garage. Parking spaces for bicycles are protected on the ground floor under a projection of the first floor, outdoors and partly in the basement, car parking spaces in the extension of the existing underground garage (under “Loretto Terraces”).

All apartments are barrier-free. All maisonette apartments have at least one level with barrier-free access, including the bathroom. All floors are accessible at ground level via elevators. A direct elevator connects the underground car park and all floors above ground.

Living

Data

Preliminary building application

2020

Address

Völklinger Straße 4
40219 Düsseldorf
Germany

Client

LIANEO

Site Plan
Elevation North
Floorplan 3rd + 4th Floor
Floorplan 5th + 6th Floor
Elevation South
Section AA

Related projects

Hafenküche

Berlin

The Hafenküche on the Spree is small - but not insignificant in terms of infrastructure: as a canteen for neighbors and surrounding businesses, for guest berths in the marina next door, for catering the saloon boats and as a beer garden for sundowners. The dilapidated structure was extended, with an unconventional look right on the water and a beautiful view over the Spree.

The structural remains date back to the early years of the GDR and before. They were structurally secured - not demolished - and renovated for energy efficiency. With just a few interventions, the identity of the site was transformed rather than eliminated. The industrial habitus was emphasized by interventions with light steel and timber constructions. The dock gates, which can be fully opened, allow guests to move freely between the beer garden, the harbor edge and the restaurant at any point.

The new components were installed with a maximum degree of prefabrication in a short time and with great precision and a high degree of efficiency. Timber as a supporting structure reduces the unavoidable thermal bridge to a manageable level and continues the architectural language of the location. The new roof cantilevers over the entire façade and thus forms a durable and constructive weather protection. The structures are bolted together and can be dismantled and reused with little effort if necessary. The center of the interior is an open kitchen around which all other functions are grouped.

PublicSteelWood

Site Plan
Cross-section
Floorplan Groundfloor

Data

Completion

2021

Address

Zur alten Flussbadeanstalt 5
10317 Berlin
Germany

Client

Hafen + Hof Grundbesitz GmbH + Co. KG

Partner

Supporting Structure:
IB Horn GmbH, Leipzig
Interior architecture - Lighting design - Acoustics: Hülle & Fülle, Berlin

Related projects

Conversion of former RAG high-rise building

Dortmund

A place to live and experience

The interaction of working and living promotes vitality in every city center.

Life has shifted to the outskirts of cities, where, in contrast to the city center, generous green spaces are available nearby and the workplace is also easily accessible by car. As a result, the inner cities lost a large proportion of their inhabitants and were filled with work and retail space. Living and working were separated.

The digitalization of workplaces is breaking down this traditional structure. People can work from anywhere, making the traditional office building less important. Working environments are becoming more flexible and location-independent, but at the same time require an attractive range of leisure activities. New mobility concepts are increasingly making it possible to do without investing in a private car.

The conversion of the former RAG high-rise building into a residential building addresses these changes, which affect both cities and their citizens, by finding a solution for both.

A. Location

The building is in a privileged location in the heart of the city. Situated next to the opera house, it has its main entrance on the north-south axis of Hansastrasse. The extensive retail areas, the varied gastronomy and various leisure facilities can be reached on foot in a very short time. The location is very well connected thanks to its proximity to public transport, the subway and the main railway station. Users with their own vehicle can use the existing garage with 121 parking spaces.

B. Concept: a place to live and experience

The building rises like a pyramid. The existing building has structures with deep areas on the first floor and second floor, which are still suitable for commercial use with internal service cores. Our concept retains the commercial use of the first two floors - ideally, the current co-working spaces can continue to be offered - and begins with the conversion to residential space on the second floor. The new residential units are located along the existing corridors, and the flexibility of the office layout is reflected in the new apartment layout, which allows for a range of different sizes and unit types. Loggias or balconies are provided in the apartment layouts to give each resident private access to the outdoors. The roof spaces created by the staggering of the building volume on every other floor are transformed into gardens for the community of residents, which also allow for a concept of curated urban gardening. The building offers interesting views in every direction. The RAG building is no longer just a place to work, but rather a place to live and experience. The reuse of the existing building fabric, the reduction of the ecological footprint by bringing residents back into the heart of the city, the sustainable and social way of life through generous shared green spaces all fit into the current context.

A new use requires a new identity. The RAG building has very formal features with a strong presence - the regular grid of the metal panels with the horizontal bands in front contrasts with the strongly pronounced volume development of the complex.

C. Facade concept

Retention of the existing façade with integration of greenery: the curtain wall with its typical glass elements will be retained. Only the windows will be replaced to allow natural ventilation of the apartments. Individual floor-to-ceiling openings will be created that open up like a “French balcony” to the cleaning corridor and offer the residents a perceived outdoor space. This itself will be planted with climbing plants. In this way, the RAG building is covered with green strips like a tree, making the outer shell appear different depending on the season.

GlassLivingMixedRetail

Data

Preliminary building application

2020

Address

Hansastraße 95
44137 Dortmund
Germany

Client

Aroundtown SA

Site Plan
Elevation
Grundriss Ground Floor
Floorplan 2nd Floor
Floorplan 10th Floor
Section

Related projects

Residential and Commercial Building Königswall

Dortmund

The property on Königswall is located in the immediate vicinity of the Dortmunder U, the soccer museum, the Kampstrasse boulevard and the main railway station. It is currently developed with a 3-storey office building from the 1950s. In the immediate vicinity, adjacent to the west, a mixed residential and office complex with 3 buildings on a common base has just been built. A high-rise building forms a striking accent and the conclusion on the corner.

The ageing existing building has a clear, simple skeleton structure with a column grid of 4 meters. The original plans envisaged a building with up to 6 storeys. It can therefore be assumed that it is possible to add a storey to the existing building. The building has a full basement.

The current proposal for conversion and extension envisages 6 storeys, with an additional penthouse on the roof. The existing single-storey side wing in the courtyard is to be demolished. There are several options for the courtyard: from keeping it free as a parking lot to a completely single-storey superstructure as a ground-floor office extension of the front building with small green inner courtyards.

The planned conversion of the front building will have 1 or 2 office floors on the ground floor and 1st floor and apartments above, either 1-room apartments or 2-3 room apartments, some as two-storey maisonettes. A particularly spacious penthouse apartment, also extending over two floors, with a roof terrace and roof garden is planned for the top floor.

Access to the building will be completely reorganized with a new staircase and elevator on the street side. All units will be accessed from here. Up to 6 apartments are connected on each of the apartment floors. While the wet cores are largely predefined, all units can be designed as open spaces or with room divisions. The entire building is planned to be barrier-free. The building can be accessed from Königswall and therefore does not require a second escape staircase.

The new exterior design of the building is intended to attract attention with an expressive façade. This consists largely of curtain-type prefabricated elements. Their alternating suspension creates a dynamic and exciting façade appearance. At the front, the view is further enlivened by protruding bay windows. On the western front side, the façade structure is led around the corner and can have windows despite its location on the property boundary due to the existing neighborhood approval. The south side is to form an attractive and pleasant outdoor space with projecting and planted terraces, thus improving the quality of the courtyard. In conjunction with the planned new residential building on the opposite plot on Schmiedingstrasse, the character of the entire quarter will soon meet today's demands for a high-quality, inner-city living and working environment.

LivingMixedOffice

Data

Study

2021

Address

Königswall 2
44137 Dortmund

Client

Grün Objektgesellschaft mbH

Elevation North
Elevation South
Section Penthouse
Cross-Section
Longitudinal Section

Related projects

Multifunctional Space Extension

Berlin

The existing building to be extended is a service hall for bus operations with offices. A multifunctional room for team meetings, workshops and office use will be added to these usage units in an extension to the existing roof. An additional kitchenette is used for catering.

The existing construction of the ceiling above OG2 was designed and constructed as a “roof”. The load-bearing capacity of the structure is not sufficient for future use with traffic loads. For this reason, the structure was reinforced. Steel girders and prestressed StBn ceiling elements in accordance with the structural analysis form the new ceiling level. The roof structure of the additional storey is constructed as a mixed structure of timber (laminated veneer lumber) in the longitudinal direction and steel (HEB) in the transverse direction in accordance with the structural analysis. Verification erected. Supports are positioned as X/V elements on the existing load-bearing axes.

The façades are designed as elements - the N/E façade as a closed timber/metal façade, all other façades as sliding glass doors.

ConcreteHybridOfficeSteelWood

Site Plan
Elevation
Elevation

Data

Completion

2017

Address

Zur Alten Flussbadeanstalt 5
10317 Berlin
Germany

Client

Hafen + Hof Grundbesitz GmbH + Co. KG

Partner

Fire Protection:
Neumann Krex + Partner, Niestetal
Statics / Construction Physics:
Ingenieurbüro Bauwesen Horn GmbH, Leipzig
Building Service Equipment:
Janowski & Co Beratende Ingenieure GmbH, Berlin

Detail Façade
Detail Sketch

Related projects

Competition Institute of the Fire Department NRW

Münster

The main site of the IdF derives its quality from its valuable tree population, but above all from its size. The existing building structure that dominates today does not reveal this size. We want to make this open space tangible as a landscape space for the people who will be trained here over several weeks. It should be a campus that allows easy orientation and where it is easy to get into conversation with others. It should allow privacy without being a barracks and at the same time be open to the public without ignoring security requirements. We are preserving all the trees and buildings whose appearance can enrich the character of the future site.

The urban figure follows the orientation of the site, the trees and the development. The gate is located at the S/E corner with a good view of the entrance, the shuttle stop, the pedestrian access, the underground parking garage entrance, the campus with its open spaces and the foyer/reception with hotel.

On the opposite side of the garden, the teaching rooms are lined up next to each other in three pavilions - with inner courtyards for differentiated lighting, a three-storey gallery facing the campus - transitory areas for vertical and horizontal access, informal areas for breaks and exchanges, partly integrated as loggias with storey-high segmental doors (glass panels) that open the gallery to the garden. The pavilion group ends with a single-storey, approx. 7.0 m high building, the restaurant. It is oriented both outwards, towards the gastronomic public, and inwards, towards the event space and the campus.

The entire pavilion group with gallery is aligned parallel to the building edges of lecture hall building C and is thus positioned a few degrees off-center to the other buildings. The interior garden thus opens up as an inviting gesture from Wolbecker Strasse towards the canal.

Material + Construction

All new buildings are built in timber construction - hotels made of room modules, all other buildings as skeleton construction with timber frame facades, glass facades or segmental doors (gallery, restaurant) for optimal open space connection and ventilation.

Open space concept

The basic urban design figure is interpreted flexibly and according to the situation: While a striking group of existing trees in the south forms the address, an urban joint of thinned-out trees in the north creates a visual axis to the canal. There is also a beer garden on this axis, which is also accessible to visitors and the neighborhood. The resulting diagonal promenade divides the campus into a meadow and a water area of the “Feuersee”. The latter is a retention basin as well as a connecting, calming and stimulating landscape element. The identity-forming trees on the large meadows will be preserved and their function as park space will be strengthened by a variety of new planting. A “piazza” will be created between the restaurant and the lecture hall building (C) as a central event location.

HotelMixedPublicWood

Data

Competition

2020

Address

Wolbecker Str. 23
48155 Münster
Deutschland

Organizer

Institute of the Fire Department NRW
Münster

Related projects

F209

Berlin

The commercial building and former hotel “Pariser Hof” was built in 1907 on the corner of Friedrichstraße and Kochstraße in today's Kreuzberg district by architect Ludwig Engel. The building is characterized by its strikingly ornate, decorative Art Nouveau façade and the accentuated round corner risalit. The building remained largely undestroyed during the Second World War, with only the striking corner tower above the risalit and a large barrel dormer with stone surround apparently falling victim to a roof fire.

The sudden peripheral location of the property, due to the division of the city at the so-called Checkpoint Charlie, led to a significant redesign of the first floor façade for cinema use after the war. Most of the high and wide shop windows were bricked up and a projecting canopy was installed. Angular, sheet-metal dormers were also installed in the renovated roof truss.

The building is listed as an individual monument and is to be completely renovated for further commercial and office use from winter 2023 to summer 2024.

The planned general refurbishment essentially comprises the dismantling of the closed cinema front and the canopy on the first floor, the revision of all office floors with new partition walls and sanitary cores, as well as new building services. In addition, the roof will be renovated, both structurally and in terms of its appearance and character, with a continuous window strip running along the roof slope and a sheet metal skin.

The existing ornamented sandstone façade will be cleaned and only repaired true to the original where technically necessary. In the area of the first floor (as a result of the cinema conversion), careful additions are planned in the area of the supports.

In line with the restrained redesign and continuation of the historical monument on the façade, an equally sustainable and ecologically responsible new concept is also planned for the interior. As far as possible, the substance will be preserved or sensibly upgraded. This applies in particular to the box-type windows, the historic staircases, the elevator shaft, the light well and the ceilings. The same principles apply to the new building services: As much as necessary, as little as possible. For this reason, a minimum of system technology for heating, cooling and ventilation is installed. Windows that can be opened everywhere in combination with external sun protection allow for a minimization of technical resources and sustainable use.

Office

Dats

Completion

LP 4
2022

Address

Friedrichstrasse 209
10169 Berlin

Client

MALTESER STIFTUNG
Ingrid Daberkow Stiftung
Erna-Scheffler-Straße 2
51103 Köln

View Kochstraße
Floorplan 3rd Floor
Floorplan Groundfloor

Related projects

Restructuring Old Piano Factory

Berlin

Sustainable architecture means creating possibilities.

For our office location in Berlin, we have transformed an old piano factory in Berlin-Mitte into a residential and office building, giving it a new lease on life.

In doing so, our goal was to intensify the existing qualities while also meeting contemporary demands for living and working.

GlassHybridLivingMasonryMixedOfficeRetail

Data

Completion

2011

Address

Brunnenstraße 156
10115 Berlin
Deutschland

Client

PETERSENARCHITEKTEN
Gesellschaft für Architektur
+ urbane Strategien mbh

Related projects