Berlin Alexanderplatz

June 2018 competition - 3rd place

In the heart of Berlin, overlooked by the Fernsehturm, Alexanderplatz is the symbol of former East-Berlin. It is an area in the midst of a vast program of urban restructuring. The construction of a new building complex reflects the issues of a city which has channeled the great turmoil of the XXth century and is now at the center of all European matters.

This project won the 3rd place in a competition launched by Covivio and the City of Berlin in June 2018 (Sauerbruch 1st, Diener & Diener 2nd).

Jean-Paul Viguier et Associés’ project is composed of an ensemble of urban elements creating a built ring. From this quadrangular base rises a 130 meter-high tower of which the north-east edge ressembles the prow of a ship.

The several floors forming the tower’s base are dedicated to retail and housing. Its hollow center is home to a living vegetal tank, the transparence of the lower levels allowing for the contemplation of the trees’ roots. At the 35 meter mark, the garden’s canopy is taken over by a planted panoramic rooftop open to the public through an acces on the 8th floor.

As for the tower, it is dedicated to offices. On the north and south sides, the loggias, arranged into a glazed fault-like pattern, bring rythm to the rising facade. Solar pannels, openings allowing for a natural ventilation and a double-skin facade make the building’s design exemplary in terms of energy savings. The concept of transparence, the winter and vertical gardens, and the porosity between indoor and outdoor spaces are all expressions of JPVA’s commitment to bringing back comfort into the workplace.

This new face for Alexanderplatz fits in the project of a new dynamic for the Berlin city center, a dynamic that is set to expand to the rest of the city. As much as it is a sign of revitalization, the project also testifies to a certain local integration, the base’s facade following the architectural pattern of the nearby buildings and the vegetal print of the Spreewald.

Jean-Paul Viguier et Associés’ project places people at the center of its development, encouraging well-being and a joyous reappropriation of this symbolic space by its users.