taz Publishing House in Berlin
Newspaper publisher taz moved into its new building at Friedrichstrasse 21, just a couple of hundred metres away from its former seat in Rudi-Dutschke Strasse, in autumn 2018. Occupying a special corner position, the new building mediates between the traditional Berlin block style development and the stand-alone buildings in southern Friedrichstadt completed as part of the International Building Exhibition (IBA) in 1987. Swiss architects E2A won the competition organised by taz and the Berlin Chamber of Architects in 2014. With simple, striking volumetrics, the architects take up the development plan and make the street, corner and courtyard an urban design leitmotif. At first glance, a continuous mesh of steel members appears to support the new building. In fact, this filigree layer is only a front. The actual load-bearing structure consists of diagonal reinforced concrete struts placed directly behind the glass facade, thus dispensing with the need for any additional columns within the building. Concrete, glass and 13 m deep office floors create a workshop atmosphere and allow various modes of working. The architects have taken the wish of the newspaper’s editorial board for hierarchy-free organisational structures and transferred it directly into the publishing house building. Red studded flooring in the conference and editorial room makes reference to the taz branding. It also characterises the heart of the newspaper offices on the first and second floors. In the centre, behind glass, a spacious, double staircase links the storeys together. Half-landings and continuous narrow balconies offer space for impromptu meetings. Architecture, facade and the intelligently integrated, low-maintenance building services systems combine to ensure excellent user comfort with individual climate control.
