Original stature
The main building of the Business University of Applied Sciences, now the School of Economics and Law, forms the focal point in the Berlin Schöneberg university campus. The H-shaped building from the 1930s exhibited severe structural war damage, some of which was only makeshift. For example, the upper floors of the side wings of the building were missing for several decades. The construction project includes the addition of two floors to the existing building as well as the extensive renovation and modernization of the entire university building.
Flexible space concept
From an urban planning point of view, the restoration of the historic building and roof contour from 1938 is decisive for the implementation of the construction measure. This means that the urgently needed seminar and lecture rooms as well as lecturers’ offices and meeting rooms can be created in a way that conserves space and resources and provides a new framework for the structural development of the university. In order to obtain rooms that are as flexible and column-free as possible, the roof space is used for a mighty steel structure from which the floor slabs below are suspended using prestressed concrete elements. In the new building, the facade takes up the historic elements of the floors below and reinterprets them.
Project details
Client
Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development
Location
Berlin
Building volume
5,600 sqm GFA (new building)
Status
BA 1 – Completion 2004
BA 2 – Completion 2006
Architect
Patrik Dierks
Photos
Maximilian Meisse
