Karstadt Central Administration in Essen
The project involved connecting the administration building and the main warehouse into a cohesive structure, both architecturally and functionally. Specifically, it consolidated the administrative departments of the Karstadt and Kepa headquarters, created optimal spaces for central purchasing and the showroom, and housed a main warehouse for textiles and hardware. The entire complex was designed to flexibly accommodate potential future needs. Based on a detailed spatial program, approximately 65,000 square metres of gross floor area were integrated into a building volume of about 350,000 cubic metres. Low-rise construction proved to be the most practical solution for the open-plan offices and the spacious showroom areas. Three staggered building sections, each with a 70 x 70 metre footprint and a 10 x 10 metre column grid, were connected in such a way that their spaces flow seamlessly into one another and can be modified at any time and in any direction on the three main floors. The entire building structure, consisting of the two three-storey outer building sections and the central four-storey section, rests on the main foundation, which was built into the slope of the sloping terrain.
