Bikini Berlin in Germany by UAU collectiv

Article source: UAU collectiv

In the Summer of 2008 UAU collective (before named SAQ) was approached by Design Hotels to aid in the creation of a proposal for an 80,000 sq. m. site comprised of 4 existing buildings and the addition of a 5th unifying building that could run throughout the complex composed of retail, hotel, cinema and office space. The project could not be a cut and paste of existing programmatic standards but instead had to integrate new concepts for retail, hotel and office space. This called for a heavily integrated team of experts for hotel (Design hotels), retail (Axel Weber and Partners), and architecture (UAU collectiv). UAU collectiv (SAQ) was responsible for the overall masterplan, the architecture as the realization of the interior of the common spaces. The realization on site is carried out by the Munich architectural firm Hild und K, which is specialised in construction work on existing buildings. Hild und K have combined the innovative design by UAU collective (SAQ) with the given conditions of the listed existing buildings and thereby made it feasible.

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

• Architects: UAU collectiv
• Project: Bikini Berlin
• Location: Berlin, Germany

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

BIKINI BERLIN is one of the few still preserved contemporary witnesses of Berlin’s turbulent history during the post-war period of the 1950s. The “Zentrum am Zoo” ensemble, which was completed in 1957 by architects Paul Schwebes and Hans Schoszberger, is a symbol of Berlin City-West’s cityscape. The listed group of buildings includes the Bikinihaus opposite the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, the Große Hochhaus (large high-rise building) on Hardenbergplatz, the Kino Zoo Palast cinema, the smaller high-rise known as the “Kleines Hochhaus” with the 25hours hotel and a car park. The basic concept of BIKINI BERLIN is a unique combination of shopping, working, cinema, recreation, urban oasis and hotel. The centrepiece of the group of buildings is the Bikinihaus with a total length of 200 metres. The lower three floors of the Bikinihaus are home to retail and gastronomy offers. The third to sixth upper floors house exclusive office spaces. The highlight of the BIKINI BERLIN building complex is the 7000 m² freely accessible green rooftop terrace, on a two-storey new build behind the Bikinihaus, facing the Zoological Garden, Germany’s oldest and best known zoo. Below this is a large marketplace, the BIKINI BERLIN POOL. The focus here is a panoramic window with spectacular views of the monkey enclosure in the Zoological Garden. The name BIKINI BERLIN comes from the name Bikinihaus, which is how local Berliners affectionately christened the building in the 1950s. An open-sided storey framed by columns on the second floor once separated the building into one upper and one lower area. For the Berlin locals, the two-tier architecture, which today is fully glazed, reminded them of the daring new swimwear fashion of that time, the bikini.

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Façade: The vibrant 1950s architecture, which is combined with modern utilization concepts, gives BIKINI BERLIN its unique flair. In particular the façade design, is a successful mix of history and modernity. And just like when building work started in the 1950s, the open-sided storey, the former “Bikini storey”, has an open design. Today it is fully glazed, however, and houses retails units behind its glass front, which are accessible via the rooftop terrace. The façades of the Bikinihaus facing the Zoological Garden and those of the hotel are fully glazed and offer a spectacular panoramic view into the Tiergarten, the green lung of Berlin. The façades of the new build elements on the cinema, the flight of stairs to the rooftop terrace, the car park and the new build between the hotel and the car park are also unique. Here, an innovative surface structure of a ‘folding façade’, the elements of which overlap like scales, was created.

Interior design: The latter, as Berlin paving stones in polished form, were also used as flooring in the POOL area. Due to the use of the same flooring material, the public urban space blends with the interior design of BIKINI BERLIN.

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

A further unique feature of the interior design of the POOL is the steel frame construction, which allows the light to flood in and characterizes the large, open hall. The concrete ceiling, lighting strips and supply pipes are also all visible. A large, centrally located interior flight of stairs leads up to the rooftop terrace. Based on the neighboring Zoological Garden with its many trees, the color concept of the interior space is green.

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Image Courtesy © UAU collectiv

Tags: Berlin, Germany

Categories: Building, Cinema, Hotel, Office Building, Office space, Offices, Retail

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