New ideas for a Berlin institution

The Center Potsdamer Platz

Placemaking, Berlin, 2022

How do you translate a Berlin landmark into the urban present - and create a place for community and participation? Commissioned by the Canadian investment company Oxford Properties Group, the Berlin-based architectural firm Kinzo developed a holistic placemaking concept for the revitalization of the Sony Center site at Potsdamer Platz.

The new approach helped the Potsdamer Platz to realize its full potential – as a lively meeting place for visitors and as an attractive location for businesses, retailers and restaurants.

Kinzo first developed new, target group-oriented usage formats for the various commercial spaces and publicly accessible areas. They are intended to enable the natural re-embedding of the site in the urban context – atmospherically, infrastructurally and economically.

Lobby D

The completion of Lobby D is a milestone in the design of the Sony Center. It opens up Building Section D toward Tiergarten and establishes a visual relationship between the interior and the city park through a 21 m high and 60 m wide glass façade.

Surfaces of oak wood, terrazzo and the hanging of lush climbing plants in the winter garden area brings the park inside. A generous oak staircase has become the centerpiece of the lobby.
Zurück
Weiter

Tenants have a variety of uses at their disposal on site: Formerly just a transit space, Lobby D now offers two floors of work and meeting space, supplemented by a separate workshop room.
Lobby D was completely renovated for the redesign. The remodeling measures required the dismantling of the interior façade and raising of the mezzanine floor ceiling.
Zurück
Weiter

Bike Parking

In addition to the design of various lobby areas, the construction measures commissioned also include the conversion of the Passerelle into a bicycle parking area: The new bike parking connects the Potsdamer Platz subway and S-Bahn station with the Forum in the Sony Center. The passageway offers space for over 200 bicycles (including e-bikes and cargo bikes) and is to be used daily by commuters, employees, residents and visitors. Completion is planned for 2023.

Lobby E

Another subproject further dissolves the boundaries between the urban space and the interior: both Lobby E spaces on Bellevue Street offer a view of the Forum, the heart of the Sony Center. The areas E1 and E2 feature strong character design approaches with high recognition value – for example, a wall covering of colored chain curtains, a massive community table and cozy lounge furniture. Completion is at the end of 2023.

Photos by Simon Schnepp for Schnepp Renou
Location Berlin
Year 2022
Client Oxford Properties
Architecture Helmut Jahn
GFA 113.000 sqm
Contact