Description

After a changeful history, a new ”Science Park” was erected in Berlin-Adlershof on the architectural remnants of this research location rich in tradition. Adlershof is supposed to create an urban alternative to the common research, high-tech and business parks at the periphery. The concept comprises a mixture of research, work, living, urban culture, leisure and sports and a landscape park at its centre. The centre does not incorporate any complex production processes. The high-tech building mainly serves as a place for theoretical research. Consequently, the building radiates the abstract character of this type of work. Generous communal areas encourage the individual enterprises to establish synergies and make vital contacts.

The Centre is situated parallel to one of the area’s main access routes. As the master plan stipulates a maximum building height of just 14 m, the building was originally to match the height of the office and administration building of Bessy II across the street. Since the resulting cubature would not have provided the required 3,200 m² of net floor area, the architects proposed to raise the office wing facing the street to a 14 m height by putting it on V-shaped steel columns. Thus, height and volume of the resulting hall – or negative volume – corresponded to the dimensions of the opposite Bessy II building. The new research building steps out of the strict alignment of the adjacent buildings. On the other hand, the recessed solid interior façade of the Centre refers to this alignment and even pronounces its very existence on an urban scale.

The different parts of the edifice can be clearly read. The 14 m atrium forms the heart of the building. At the centre between the two building parts, it rises up to a generous roof light. Both building halves are supported by V-shaped pairs of columns – four storeys high on the side facing the street and one storey high on the northwestern side. This creates the impression of lightweight buildings hovering above the ground, only touching it at eight points.

The first to third storeys can be accessed via single-flight stairs. The offices situated to the rear of the upper floors are accessed via galleries, which are linked to the meeting areas by bridges. Glazed walls create visual connections between the office corridors and the atrium. The top floors provide space for meeting rooms permitting open plan space arrangements.

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Originally published in: Hardo Braun, Dieter Grömling, Research and Technology Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2005.