DG BANK BUILDING
Berlin, Germany

Photo: Kirsten Kiser

Pariser Platz 3 is a mixed-use building comprised of a commercial component housing the Berlin headquarters of DG Bank and a residential component consisting of 39 apartments. The commercial component of the building is oriented towards Pariser Platz and the Brandenburg Gate, and the residential component is oriented towards Behrenstrasse.

Both the Pariser Platz facade and the Behrenstrasse facade are clad in a buff-colored limestone that matches the Brandenburg Gate. The facades are scaled independently from one another, so that the proportions of both are appropriate to the immediate urban area within which they each exist. The Pariser Platz facade features a series of simple, punched openings and deeply-recessed window bays, allowing the building to blend naturally into the unique urban fabric which is the setting of the Gate.

A glass canopy covers the main entry to the building from Pariser Platz. A high-volume foyer immediately inside the main entry offers a view into the building's large interior atrium, which features a curving glass ceiling and a curving glass floor. A wood-clad arcade leads to the office elevator lobbies, which are located on either side of the atrium. Offices and conference spaces are organized around the atrium, and are oriented inward to take advantage of the natural light that floods through the glass ceiling. The building's primary conference hall is located within a highly sculptural shell that rests on the glass floor in the center of the atrium. Clad in stainless steel on the exterior and wood on the interior, the hall appears to float in the fluid depth of the space. A Sky Lounge is located on the roof of the building, beneath a stainless steel collar that surrounds the Southern end of the atrium's glass ceiling. The Sky Lounge features high ceilings and expansive glazing designed to take advantage of the building's spectacular views of the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, and the Tiergarden.

A second, smaller interior atrium serves the residential component of the project. This atrium promotes ventilation in the residential area and allows natural light to enter both sides of each apartment. A reflecting pool at the bottom of the atrium adds a dynamic quality to the light, best seen from the glass elevators that service the residential area.