Leipziger Platz 16
Fassadenansicht von der gegenüberliegenden Seite des Platzes
Seitliche Ansicht der Fassade
Fassadendetail

Leipziger Platz 16

LocationLeipziger Platz 16, D-10117 Berlin
ClientHigh Gain House Investments GmbH
Building period2013–2014
ProcedureCompetition 2010

The facade design seeks to reinterpret the historical look and typology of Berlin’s commercial buildings and to express this in a contemporary architectural idiom. Taking the existing structural planning for the building as the point of departure, the design aims to strike a balance between articulating the building’s specific individual identity and contributing to the harmonious unity of the re-developed urban space envisaged in Hilmer and Sattler’s master plan. The design of the facade facing Leipziger Platz conveys a sense of the building’s urban functions (commercial, office and residential utilisation) by varying the external facade motifs. Recessed sections provide optical relief in response to the pronounced cornicing, creating a vertical facade structuring that seems to soar upwards. Echoing the other architecture nearby, Jura limestone panels with various finishes were selected for the cladding: the horizontal elements are polished, in contrast to the piers, which are bush-hammered (grooved). The relief effect this creates is further intensified by the concealed frame profiles of the windows.