26.04.22 - Sony Center, Berlin
URBAN JUNGLE ON THE FINISHING STRAIGHT
The showpiece of the new Sony Center is nearing completion. The carpenters are installing the last wooden steps on the spacious staircase, the new lights are being hung and the climbing plants are waiting to be allowed to rise up into the over 20 m high winter garden. At the same time, the craftsmen are preparing to install the motif wallpaper and acoustic walls.
After more than a year of planning and construction, the time has come. Designed and redesigned by Kinzo Architects, the entrance lobby of Building D of the Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz will offer tenants and visitors space to work, meet and linger. The planned jungle look is intended to create an interface between the Tiergarten and the Sony Center. The aim is to upgrade the ambience of the previously rather unwelcoming areas with plenty of seating and warmer materials such as wood, while at the same time improving the acoustics and climate of the space.
The seven-building ensemble at Potsdamer Platz was designed by the German-American architect Helmut Jahn, realized from 1995-1998 and opened in 2000. The conversion and redesign at Building D marks the start of the large-scale master plan by developer Oxford Properties. An international bicycle manufacturer has already opened its doors. This will be followed shortly by a further gastronomy area, the new entrance lobby and the completely renovated outdoor facilities, which will be ready for use by summer 2022. Overall, the Sony Center is to be comprehensively modernized and adapted to the current needs of Berliners, tourists and tenants by 2025.
More information on the project is available here.
Images: © Kinzo (rendering); Alejandra Horsley, Kinzo (images); © Realace GmbH (header)