(All images courtesy 3XN Architects)
Ron Bernthal
Cube Berlin, completed in 2020 and designed the by the Denmark-based firm 3XN is the sculptural centerpiece of one of the most prominent squares in Berlin. Here it is promoting life and activity for the city, and providing a true workplace of the future for its tenants, excelling in sustainability, resilience and opportunities for knowledge sharing. It is the first office built specifically to support 21st Century workplace trends with multi-tenant occupancy, cross-organizational communication, activity-based work stations, shared facilities, and dynamic office layouts. It is also one of the smartest buildings in Europe. Integrating ‘Internet of Things’-ideals into the design will allow optimization of everything from access and indoor climate control to maintenance and energy-supply.
“Instead of a conventional office building, it’s a huge kaleidoscope or interactive sculpture,” says Danish architect Torben Østergaard, the partner at Copenhagen-based 3XN who was in charge of the structure’s design.
Cube Berlin occupies a unique and highly prominent location on Washington Platz, with a vast public square fronting Berlin`s new Main Railway Station, a two-minute walk from the Cube, and that overlooks the Federal Government Complex across the River Spree. The masterplan for Washington Platz defines the solitary Cube Berlin to be a perfect cubic body with five equally important facades, the sculptural centerpiece of one of the most prominent squares in Berlin.
The opening of Berlin’s new Main Railway Station in 2006 marked the starting point for the development of “Europa city” – an entirely new urban district within Berlin. Washington Platz serves as one of Berlin’s main entry points for many and as a key location for new development. cube berlin will ultimately complete the original masterplan for Washington Platz. Unique in the fact that the site has total exposure on all facades, the form became critical to the City of Berlin. It was important that this centerpiece achieve a sculptural quality on its own while not outshining the new Main Railway Station.
While a glazed building runs the risk of becoming a sauna, Cube Berlin meets stringent energy efficiency standards with its unique design. The facade consists of an outer glass skin and an inner layer of thermally insulated glazing that clads a concrete frame. Between the two layers, a cavity that ranges from 12 inches to nearly seven feet wide, depending on the angle of the building’s triangular facets, provides natural ventilation.
Situated near the southern entrance of Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the German capital’s main train station, the 210,000-square-foot, 11-story Cube Berlin is one of dozens of buildings composing Europacity Berlin—a new 151-acre urban development project revitalizing the city’s Moabit District that’s been under way since 2009. Eventually, more than 3,000 residential apartments will be available, and about 16,000 people will work at Europacity.
To both the city and 3XN it was important that Cube Berlin, as a privately owned office building at the center of Washington Platz, will perform more than as an architectural statement. The sculpted body is designed with the desire to actively engage with the surroundings and act as a catalyst for bringing life, interaction and activity to the square. The architectural body defines a soft – yet articulate – transition between inside and public space while allowing people to access outside platforms at every level and provide for a strong street level interaction. ‘
On the ground floor a semi-public food market is a destination for Berliners and ensures that Washington Platz will definitely have a more vibrant future. The large foyer on the ground floor is a semi-public space housing exhibition areas, an auditorium, a children’s reading corner etc. During the summer season, the façade can be opened to allow the public amenities to spill out at the square and make the Cube interior interact with the surroundings.
The vision of ‘inhabiting the sculpture’ continues at the vast roof terrace designed as a flying carpet in mind, and open to all users for social events, celebrations, breaks and as an informal work space. Recently, the building’s distinctive facade began reflecting a new aspect of everyday life in Berlin: The tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees who arrive at the main train station are greeted by a temporary welcome center adjacent to the Cube.
Because of its proximity to the Berlin Wall, the 6.6 million-square-foot site containing Europacity Berlin and the Cube remained underused and sparsely developed for decades, despite its highly desirable location. A strict legal covenant on the site dating back to the 1990’s that limited the buildable area to 140-feet on each side determined its cubic shape.
