DETAIL Prize 2014: Tour Total Berlin

Nominated for the DETAIL Prize 2014: Barkow Leibinger, Berlin, Germany
Tour Total Berlin, Berlin, Germany

The high-rise building designed by Barkow Leibinger Architekten as the new headquarters of TOTAL in Germany is the first building to be completed in the so-called Europacity behind Berlin Central Station. The cubature of the 17-storey, 68-m-high building results from the requirement to have easily illuminated office layouts. In line with the master plan, the front of the building is oriented towards the future square on Heidestrasse. The base follows the curve of the street, and the long sides are slightly folded. The colonnades in the base area anchor the building in its urban environment. The facade is a plastically formed grid facade made of concrete. Light, prefabricated concrete parts curtain-hung in front of the load-bearing wall construction cover the structure, giving it an animated line profile that reduces the severity of the supporting grid. The changing effects of light and shadow on the facade are enhanced depending on the weather, time of year and time of day. Currently the second phase of the ensemble is being constructed – a six-storey office building that together with the Total Tour will form a narrow passage in an exciting urban space setting.