Competition for
the extension of
existing building
floated among 6
architects in
Autumn 1990.
BRIEF:
Extension and renovation
of an existing 1961s
building.
19000 sqm of shops and
offices
CONSTRAINTS:
First skyscraper to be built
in Berlin after the fall of the
Berlin Wall.
Critical Reconstructionism
applicable in Berlin
WINNING CONCEPT
Sauerbruch Hutton won the competition in March 1991
Integrate existing office building into a series of 5 volumes:
The Baguette
The Baguettini
The Pillbox
The Existing Tower
The High Rise
Attempt to work with literal and cultural embodied energy of existing building
Low energy consumption, Occupant comfort
Retroactive Imaginations
City of Tolerance
Baroque Syncopations
DAYLIGHTING STRATEGY
Due to the link with the existing building, the High rise is limited to a floor height of 3.25 m.
Maximum Floor Plate depth of 11m
Fully Glazed walls with low cills
Supplemented with energy efficient Artificial lighting monitored by automated systems
Solar control
On west face by vertically pivoting and sliding panels
On East Face, by integral Blinds
NATURAL VENTILATION
Natural ventilation strategy relies on cross
ventilation at each floor induced by stack
effect in the western buffer zone. This is
Enhanced by the Venturi Element on the roof
CROSSVENTILATION
Cross ventilation takes place due to stack
effect.
Provisons have been made to continue cross
ventilation even across partition walls by
providing large inlets spaces and perforated
screens along with doors.
VENTURI
ELEMENT
The Winged roof over the
Western Flue acts as a
Venturi element and
enhances air circulation
through Bernoulli's effect.
It also shields the Flue
from Rainwater
Awards and
Nominations:
World Architecture
Award shortlist for
northern Europe 2001
Architekturpreis Beton,
Special Mention 2001
Deutscher
Architekturpreis, Special
Mention 2001
Mies van der Rohe
Award Finalist 2001
Deutscher Fassadenpreis
2001
Berlin Architectural
Award 2000
RIBA award for the GSW
Headquarters Building
2000
Stirling prize nomination
2000
ar+d Award, High
Commendation 2000
Piano-Hochhaus, 1999
ADAC Headquarters,
Munich
Munich Re,
Munich
Municipal Savings
Bank, Oberhausen
KFW Westarkade,
Frankfurt
References
http://www.mech.hku.hk/sbe/case_study/case/ger/GSW_Berlin/GSW-energy.htm
Urban Strategies for Berlin, Matthias Sauerbruch and Louisa Hutton, Accessed at
http://www.rudi.net/books/11000
http://www.tensinet.com/database/viewProject/4268
http://www.architectureweek.com/2003/0813/environment_1-1.html
http://www.architravel.com/architravel/building/gsw-headquarters/
http://en.wikiarquitectura.com/index.php/GSW_Headquarters
Eco-Towers: Sustainable Cities in the Sky, K. Al-Kodmany, 2015
http://www.mech.hku.hk/sbe/case_study/case/ger/GSW_Berlin/GSW-Index.htm
GSW Hauptverwaltung Berlin, Sauerbruch Hutton Architekten / GSW Headquarters Berlin,
Sauerbruch Hutton Architects, 2000
http://www.ncscolour.co.uk/case_studies/architecture.html