Today's modern office building at Ostbahnhof bears little resemblance to the imposing concrete monolith that once dominated the area. For decades, this structure housed the Galeria Kaufhof department store before falling vacant. How to reimagine such a building? This challenge drew architectural firms to submit designs for a major competition. The Berlin-based Jasper Architects won with a visionary concept that transformed UP! Berlin into a state-of-the-art workspace, where industrial aesthetics and contemporary design converge.

To activate the 46-metre concrete cube for office use, the architects carved triangular wedges into each façade, allowing daylight to flood deep into the building's core while creating multiple terraces for occupants. Working in close partnership with Trilux, the lighting specialists at Licht Kunst Licht crafted an intelligent, performance-driven solution that prioritizes visual comfort and spatial flexibility—while respecting the building's contemporary aesthetic and transparent character. The centerpiece: a continuous linear light strip system that runs north-south between the ceiling planes, delivering consistent ambient and accent lighting throughout all floors. This sleek device carrier—flush with the ceiling's lowest edge—houses diffuse-optic LED elements that bathe the space in soft, even illumination. Deliberately extending this language above the "meeting cubes," the diffuse light creates subtle, layered patterns on the overhead planes. In specialized zones like the kitchenette, the system accommodates directional spotlights for targeted accent lighting. The result? Zones of differentiated atmosphere that adapt intuitively to changing furniture layouts and functional needs. Through meticulous linearity and the sophisticated interplay between diffuse foundational light and powerful directional illumination, the planners have crafted a lighting strategy that feels genuinely contemporary—a refined answer to the building's bold architectural voice.

www.jasperarchitects.com
www.gewers-pudewill.de
www.lichtkunstlicht.com

Photography Credits:

HG Esch
www.hgesch.de

(Published in CUBE Berlin 04|21)