Staab Architekten

Gatehouses of the Physikalisch-Technische-Bundesanstalt, Berlin

2017 – 2021/2022

The main site of the Physikalisch-Technische-Bundesanstalt will be reorganized in connection with the adjacent extension area and regain its former address on Marchstraße. The street will be accentuated by two gatehouses on the corners of the park-like site, just as it used to be. The gatehouses will also frame the centrally positioned historical observatory.
While in the northern house locates the gate and the administration, the southern house offers employees seminar and event spaces, as well as a specialized library. A cafeteria and an exhibition space on the ground floor welcome external guests.
The buildings distant appearance is determined by a color-coordinated brick façade, which emphasizes the ensemble character of the complex. The cornices’ spacing increases towards the eaves, translating the classical emphasis of the plinth into a continuous gradient. Standing window formats structure the building at regular intervals. At pedestrian level, the grey anodized façades of the entrances and terraces come to the fore and ground the building on the site.
Behind this regular façade, the gatehouses are organized compactly. The two main open zones on each storey, which face Marchstraße and the park, are entered through a central access space, to which all auxiliary rooms are attached. Thus, different functions can be incorporated in the two gatehouses without impairing the calm placement of the buildings.

Negotiated procedure 1st prize 2017

Client Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung

Occupants Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB)

Start of planning – completion 2018 – 2021

For performance phases 2 – 9

Usable floor area 2,500 sqm

Design team Jan Holländer, Hagen Groß (project management), Tanja Klein, Nicole Lochocki, Sönke Reteike, Mladen Milinovic