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Entwurf • Design PLY Atelier, Hamburg
Bauherr • Client Ramboll Deutschland, Hamburg
Standort • Location Kopenhagener Str. 60–68, Berlin
Nutzfläche • Floor space 2780 m 2
Fotos • Photos Anne Deppe, Berlin
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More info on page 142

RAMBOLL OFFICE

IN BERLIN

Future-oriented and also in love with the past: For Ram-
boll, PLY Atelier have designed a flexibly adaptable new-
work office landscape on a listed industrial site – the
Wilhelm Hallen in the Berlin district of Reinickendorf. On
two levels, the premises of the former iron foundry pro-
vide space for about 90 employees of the Danish engi-
neering- and management consulting company.

S ince 2021 and after the completion of extensive renovation work,
photo- and music studios, ateliers as well as event- and exhibition
rooms have been successively breathing new life into the property that
has long been unused and now manage to attract the creative and cul-
ture scene of Berlin and from abroad into the Wilhelm Hallen. In addi-
tion, office areas are currently expanding the synergism of the various
disciplines on the site which measures 20,000 square metres. The mul-
ticoloured mixture is harmoniously framed by the homogenous clinker
brick architecture. The total of six brickwork buildings of the Carl Schö-
ning foundry had been constructed at the time of the turn of the century,
in this case between 1898 and 1918, under the direction of the architect
Hermann Streubel and they have lost only little of their charm since
then. Almost unaltered and covered in soot, the subtle ornamentation
bears witness to the past industrial use. The interior architecture looks
far more progressive. Thus, for example, also in Building D with recently
modern offices for flexibly adaptable workstations that have been desi-
gned on the ground- and the upper floor. Joke Rasch, David Einsiedler
and Daniel Schöning left the construction exposed after the gutting visi-
ble – with the exception of the raw ceiling which they had coated with
a light-grey floor covering of caoutchouc and fine granite grit. The pre-
cise furnishing of birch, aluminium, wood wool and linoleum is a high-
quality contrast to the rough background. On both levels, , white ele-
ments – as a kind of sail composition – were mounted on a cable system
to improve the room acoustics. These sails attractively increase the com-
plexity of the vaulted ceiling: An acoustic sail spans two each of the flat
barrel vaults. The view of the original ceiling structure is preserved.
Rhythmically arranged pendant luminaires emphasize vaults with indi-
rect light and ensure the even illumination of the workstations. Less suc-
cessful, on the other hand, is the solar protection which resembles a
projection screen – although it is plausible since the building (today)
lacks the filigree subdivision of the window frames with wrought-iron
Grundriss Erdgeschoss • Ground floor plan Grundriss Obergeschoss • Upper floor plan sash bars; not least due to its past as an iron foundry.

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