Berlin’s new connotation with “Bauhaus”
Thinking of Bauhaus Berlin automatically triggers associations with Gropius. Now, Berlin is associated with another architectural phenomenon: The new Bauhaus AG building by Müller Reimann Architects. The warehouse-style construction, featuring an extravagant façade, is perfectly in tune with its sophisticated surroundings. The architects explain that “within its urban environment, the building develops a quality and impact that goes beyond the façade design of a building whose architecture is essentially dictated by its purpose. The objective was to enhance the specialized DIY centre in this prominent city centre location.” The 16.5 million euro new building complex is set in a prime location at 129a Kurfürstendamm.
The three-dimensional façade, made up of parametric ALUCOBOND® tray panels spanning the whole 22 000 m² structure, refracts light and changes colour depending on weather conditions, the time of day and on how the light falls. According to Müller Reimann, “The façade’s impact is down to the combination and overlay of different elements: reflecting surfaces, advertising panels, glazed conservatory and planted greenery. The “Stadtgarten” garden centre, a conservatory-like building set in front of the sales area, showcases the DIY store like an oversized shop window. Long bands of windows are used as extensive advertising space and draw the eye along the path of the former railway track. Shopping is made easier by the Drive-in Arena.
