Transparent Sculpture with Brain
The cubic building reads as an abstract, contemporary sculpture from the outside. Its folded glass façade reflects the surroundings in kaleidoscopic fashion.
Completed after three years of construction, the cube berlin office building brings another spectacular architectural landmark to the rapidly growing Europacity, positioned directly on Washingtonplatz at Berlin's main train station—and adds a new icon to Berlin's skyline. Designed by the renowned Copenhagen-based firm 3XN, the cubic building presents itself as an abstract, contemporary sculpture. Its folded glass façade reflects the surrounding environment in a constantly shifting kaleidoscopic display. The building's appearance transforms continuously with changing light conditions. Dynamic cutouts in the façade create terraces for tenants across the ten upper floors. These incisions span entire building elevations, with their orientation rotating from floor to floor according to cardinal direction. The sculptural rooftop terrace offers additional functional possibilities and panoramic views across Berlin. While the ten upper floors and rooftop terrace are reserved exclusively for office tenants, the ground floor will feature a publicly accessible marketplace with diverse dining and hospitality offerings across a substantial portion of the space.
The cube berlin was developed as a so-called "Smart Commercial Building." The goal of this prototype was to enhance the building's operational efficiency through networked digital technology while simultaneously offering tenants additional services. The central interface is the tenant's own smartphone: a custom-developed building app puts all tenant-relevant functions at their fingertips. The innovation lies in the integration of individual components into a central system—the so-called Brain. This is a self-learning system that processes the diverse data streams supplied by sensors. The sensors capture both environmental information and data on tenant behavior and usage patterns. The app enables, for example, keyless and touchless building access. Upon approach, the system recognizes the tenant and automatically unlocks the door.
Photography Credits:
Adam Mørk and Andreas Muhs for CA Immo
(Originally published in CUBE Berlin 01|20)
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