50Hertz Headquarter Berlin / LOVE architecture and urbanism

50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Interior Photography, Windows, Facade50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Exterior Photography50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Exterior Photography, Windows, Facade50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Interior Photography, Glass, Windows50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - More Images+ 20

  • Client: 50Hertz Transmission GmbH
  • Project Staff: Carina Faustmann, Peggy Marten, Wolfgang Schneider, Verena Auer, Christina Windisch, Anja Moch, Sigrid Derler, Tamara Frisch, Stephanie Jordan, Wolfgang Mitterer
  • Model Making: Iulius Popa
  • Partner Agency: kadawittfeldarchitektur
  • Partner Agency Staff: Holger Giesen, Karl Büttner, Max Schöneich, Max Schmidt, Henning Drefke, Christian Kreifelts, Lars Junold, Jonas Kröber

  • Artist: Michael Sailstorfer
  • Project Controlling: Drees & Sommer GmbH, Sebastian Schille
  • General Specialist Planner: Inros Lackner SE | Haie-Jann Krause

  • Project Manager: Andreas Perchinig
  • Construction Supervision: Jörg Baumann, Maren Brandt, Suat Schöneich, Jan Knoops
  • Graphic Design: Garde

  • Building Excavation: Porr / Stump Spezialtiefbau | Bernhard Hinterplattner
  • City: Berlin
  • Country: Germany
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50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Interior Photography, Windows, Facade
© HG Esch

Text description provided by the architects. Eighteen architectural firms participated in the international non-open competition for the new 50Hertz Netzquartier in Berlin. The initial phase yielded two finalists, LOVE architecture and urbanism and the Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects, with the LOVE design ultimately prevailing. The other competitors included NO.MAD Arquitectos (Madrid), Sauerbruch Hutton (Berlin), Hadi Teherani Architects (Hamburg), Kleihues + Kleihues (Berlin), Müller Reimann (Berlin).

50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Exterior Photography
© HG Esch

Location
The site is noteworthy due to its prominent location in Berlin’s inner city. It is adjacent to the Museum of Contemporary Art and the “Am Hamburger Bahnhof” cultural zone. The site is also within close proximity to the main train station and the parliament and government district with the Federal Chancellery, the German Bundestag, and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Exterior Photography, Cityscape
© HG Esch
50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Image 19 of 25
Site Plan
50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Exterior Photography, Facade, Cityscape
© HG Esch

Building Concept
The structurally sound exterior construction, which consists of white concrete composite columns (Dia-Grid), allows for column-free interior spaces alongside the façade, which enable a flexible utilization of interior space. The framework structure creates a network of evenly arranged diagonal struts, which abstractly symbolizes the company’s purpose (50Hertz is a network operator) while also visually referencing the rail area, with its steel bridges and viaducts, around the area of the Hamburg and Lehrter train station. 

50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Image 20 of 25
Diagram
50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Image 25 of 25
Diagram

Individual struts were removed from the even diagonal structure. The only prerequisite for this was that an easily manageable free span of approx. 8.3 m in the cantilever area could not be exceeded. This playful approach resulted in a geometrically complex interwoven exterior, a framework structure made of compression and tensile struts. The orange cores, which house the elevators, stairways, shafts, utility rooms and restrooms, draw the viewer’s gaze through the exterior network deep into the depths of the building. Two of the three cores are slightly tilted. Since the Reserve Control Center (RCC) is also part of the new company headquarters, a particularly sophisticated safety concept guided the planning and implementation stages. 

50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Image 7 of 25
© HG Esch

Flexible Office Landscape
The design creates rooms that accommodate the company’s desire to adapt its corporate culture towards more open, flexible, team-oriented work. The integration of outdoor workspaces into the deep building structure supports various utilization concepts, each of which offers a different workflow, workspace quality and atmosphere. Each layout features a unique blend of concentration areas, informal communication zones and garden zones (outdoor workspaces). During the planning stages, each department was able to tailor their work environment to their specific needs. No two floors in the building are alike – many different working worlds were created, each with its own special features. 

50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Interior Photography, Glass, Windows
© HG Esch
50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Image 22 of 25
Floor Plan
50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Interior Photography, Table, Chair
© HG Esch

Night-Time Lighting Concept
At night, individual strut segments of the exterior supporting structure are illuminated, which creates dynamic lines that evoke sine curves. This transforms the net structure into a linear structure at night, radically altering the building’s appearance.  The 50Hertz Netzquartier received the world’s first “DGNB Diamant” award. 

50Hertz Headquarter Berlin  / LOVE architecture and urbanism - Image 16 of 25
© HG Esch

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Project location

Address:Berlin, Germany

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "50Hertz Headquarter Berlin / LOVE architecture and urbanism" 25 Dec 2016. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/802027/50hertz-headquarter-berlin-love-architecture-and-urbanism> ISSN 0719-8884

© HG Esch

50赫兹柏林总部 / LOVE architecture and urbanism

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