Triangle Building
Josef Paul Kleihues

Photo: arcspace

The Triangle Building is situated in the middle of the complex of buildings in the Friedrichstadt district known as the American Business Center. The site, within the orthogonal order of the Friedrichstadt district which was bisected by the former Check point Charlie customs wall, is triangular in shape.

To convert the odd-angle shape of the site into a right-angled triangle Kleihues developed a design grid which shifted the basic geometrical form relative to the irregular boundaries of the site.

The building is characterized by two facade designs that are totally different in conception. The Friedrichstrasse and Schützenstrasse facades are clad in grey, unpolished granite, articulated by horizontal bands of windows, while the Mauerstrasse side is glazed throughout.


Photo: arcspace

Photo: arcspace

Photo: arcspace

The site boundaries are reproduced in the arrangement of the protruding glass facade on the Mauerstrasse side and in the run of the windowsills on the "granite" Friedrichstrasse side, which distorts the ground plan of the upper floors into an irregular triangle.


Photo: arcspaceGlazing Detail

Photo: arcspace

The building keeps to the traditional 22 meters height of the eaves in the Friedrichstads area with the shops on the ground floor, the offices above and the apartments, all with their own terraces, on the recessed top floor. There are two core staircases in the building that give access to corridors on the individual floors. As always with a Kleihues building the quality of construction is superb and the attention to detailing immaculate.


Photo: arcspace

Photo: arcspace

Photo: arcspace

Photo: arcspace

Photo:arcspace

Photo: arcspace


Drawing courtesy Josef Paul KleihuesGround Floor Plan

Josef Paul Kleihues also designed the 1994 GSW multi-use building, diagonally across from the Triangle building, that covers an entire block. The glazing rises through the full height of the building with bands of green glazed terracotta tiles dividing the facade into a grid of squares.


Photo: arcspace