Platform on sun and daylight control, shutters, patio covers and closures
Office building Ritterstraße 16, Berlin
With its striking facade structure, the Ritterstrasse 16 office building in Berlin-Kreuzberg presents itself as an open showcase for the creative culture of this lively district. The architects achieved a special design level through their shading concept with exterior frame screens from Warema in the brilliant white color of the precast concrete elements.
Ritterstraße in Berlin's creative center Kreuzberg has developed into a biotope for contemporary office architecture. The Ritterstraße 16 building stands out among the large number of commercial buildings by well-known architectural firms - thanks to a substantial facade relief of white precast concrete elements. The striking facade structure extends over all six floors of the nearly 40-meter-long building block. With its unique facade, the building has already gained a certain notoriety in the neighborhood.
The new building was designed by the Berlin architectural firm Richter Musikowski located a few blocks away. In a non-public competition with an expert procedure, the architectural firm was able to convince with its design. The overbuilding of a subway tunnel under the plot was crucial. Richter Musikowski spanned that spot with a steel support frame that deflects the weight of the building. She designed the office building as an asymmetrical T that connects to the perimeter block on the street side at 39 meters and fronts into the depth of the plot with a 54-meter support. This creates two courtyards of very different character, one with sitting stairs and tree beds as a semi-open meeting point, the other realized as a green rest zone.
The office building is laid out for up to 16 use units, flexible use with its open grid structure and a 5 meter wide corridor area. Access is designed as a central stairwell core with two elevators. The parking garage provides space for 12 cars and 68 bicycle parking spaces.
With its industrial character, the facade supports the architects' goal of creating a contemporary interpretation of Kreuzberg's artisanal workshops. The outer layer is formed by frames of self-supporting precast concrete elements stacked on top of each other in a strict grid form and attached to the steel-concrete skeletal structure. Diagonal connecting rods in the sandblasted frame provide the strong recognition effect. In the depth behind are narrow loggias of 1.6 and 1.8 meters width as places of respite for the building's users. Panoramic windows extending to the bottom with lightweight aluminum frames provide light-flooded workplaces and allow glimpses into the office and production spaces that, brightly lit at night, coalesce into a collective image of the creative industry.
A second level of design was created by the architects with their shading concept. The continuous loggias already allow natural shading of the room-high window fronts. For the exterior shielding from sunlight and glare, the architects further chose wind-stable frame screens from Warema with a Serge Ferrari fabric material in frost white. This color shade almost perfectly matches that of the precast concrete elements. When the up to 2.75 m wide and 3 m high frame screens are lowered, they transform the appearance of the plastic facade structure into a homogeneous concrete relief in radiant white. The fabric material also reduces heat radiation and provides a good combination of heat protection and view to the outside.
The cabinets for the pre-wall window screens were integrated invisibly directly behind the frame of the precast concrete elements in the lintel and can be serviced from the loggias. The lateral easyZIP guide disappears discreetly into the shadow joints of the frame. For control purposes, each screen obtained its own drive, which is operated via a central KNX control panel in the offices.
This sustainable climate concept of the DGNB Gold-certified building is clearly supported by the front-facing window screens, as the heat-inside flow in summer is clearly reduced despite the light tint of the fabric. An influencing factor for the certification, in addition to the values achieved, was also the durability of the shading system and its controls. In addition, the fabric allows see-through to the outside, offers a good combination of heat protection and visibility to the outside and thus ensures pleasant working conditions.
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