DZ Bank
Berlin, Germany · 1999
An interior precedent demonstrating the integration of a fluid, biomorphic metal sculpture and a complex glass grid-shell roof within a highly disciplined, orthogonal timber-clad atrium.
- What we like about this project
- The contrast between the highly polished, faceted glass floor/roof elements and the matte, continuous curves of the metal sculpture.
Materials
- stainless-steel
- glass
- structural-steel
- wood-paneling
Visual identifiers
- glass-grid-shell
- biomorphic-sculpture
- atrium-courtyard
- wood-clad-facade
Style tags
- deconstructivist
- organic-modernism
- high-tech
Visual tags
- atrium
- grid-shell
- organic-form
- daylit-atrium
- monumental-space
- sculptural-architecture
- Geometry
- A central, biomorphic, sculptural volume with double-curved metal cladding sits within a rectilinear, multi-story atrium. Above, a complex, doubly-curved glass grid-shell roof spans the entire courtyard.
- Facade system
- Interior courtyard facade featuring modular wood-paneled window bays.
- Structural guess
- Steel-pipe space frame for the glass roof; internal steel armature for the sculptural shell.
- Spatial scale
- Grand, multi-story civic scale, with the atrium rising approximately five to six stories.
- Lighting
- Diffused daylight filters down through the overhead glass grid-shell, casting soft highlights on the metallic sculpture and illuminating the deep atrium.
- Atmosphere
- A dramatic, awe-inspiring interior where organic geometry meets rationalist structure under a canopy of light.
- Environmental context
- An enclosed, monumental interior atrium within a dense urban block in Berlin.
- Spatial experience
- The viewer experiences a dramatic contrast between the highly structured, orthogonal wooden office wings and the fluid, organic forms of the central sculpture and overhead glass canopy.
- Composition rhythm
- Symmetrical, flanking office facades with repetitive rectangular openings frame the central, asymmetrical organic sculpture.
- Style reading
- Deconstructivist organic expressionism within a rationalist envelope
- Program
- Financial headquarters or corporate headquarters atrium
- Perspective
- Interior Spatial
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- stainless-steel, glass, structural-steel, wood-paneling
- Visual identifiers
- glass-grid-shell, biomorphic-sculpture, atrium-courtyard, wood-clad-facade
- Style tags
- deconstructivist, organic-modernism, high-tech
- Visual tags
- atrium, grid-shell, organic-form, daylit-atrium, monumental-space, sculptural-architecture
- Geometry
- A central, biomorphic, sculptural volume with double-curved metal cladding sits within a rectilinear, multi-story atrium. Above, a complex, doubly-curved glass grid-shell roof spans the entire courtyard.
- Facade system
- Interior courtyard facade featuring modular wood-paneled window bays.
- Structural guess
- Steel-pipe space frame for the glass roof; internal steel armature for the sculptural shell.
- Spatial scale
- Grand, multi-story civic scale, with the atrium rising approximately five to six stories.
- Lighting
- Diffused daylight filters down through the overhead glass grid-shell, casting soft highlights on the metallic sculpture and illuminating the deep atrium.
- Atmosphere
- A dramatic, awe-inspiring interior where organic geometry meets rationalist structure under a canopy of light.
- Environmental context
- An enclosed, monumental interior atrium within a dense urban block in Berlin.
- Spatial experience
- The viewer experiences a dramatic contrast between the highly structured, orthogonal wooden office wings and the fluid, organic forms of the central sculpture and overhead glass canopy.
- Composition rhythm
- Symmetrical, flanking office facades with repetitive rectangular openings frame the central, asymmetrical organic sculpture.
- Style reading
- Deconstructivist organic expressionism within a rationalist envelope
- Program
- Financial headquarters or corporate headquarters atrium
- Perspective
- Interior Spatial
- Discipline
- architecture