Typology

Open Built Fabric

Program

Furniture

Location

DE
Berlin

Year

2023

Status

Built

Budget in €

20 000 

Size in sqm

150

Client

Berlin International University

BI Lobby

: Organizing pyramids

Berlin International is a vibrant and young academic institution in the heart of Berlin where architecture, design, graphism, and business courses are taught to students worldwide. They had only recently moved to their new location at Salzufer Strasse when Covid hit in 2020.

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Since students are back on campus, an ambition is to activate the faculty lobby. Until now, this 200 sqm room was mainly used as a transitional entrance hall to classes and office spaces.
The request from the faculty was simple: they wanted to redesign their entrance lobby with an intervention that would create a solid identity for the space with a minimum budget and within a short timeframe. There was also a request for modularity to allow activities such as exhibitions, lectures, and informal gatherings.
We devised the principle of a triangular staircase both in plan and section – it could also be called a quarter pyramid. The module serves as a place to sit or exhibit, but its main feature lies in its repetition.
The simple duplicated shape can suddenly metamorphose into many other objects and create sub-spaces within the large lobby room. The official Colors of Berlin International inspire the stripes of blue and pink. Their graphism empowers the playfulness of the modules on wheels, where students can feel like they are in a playground, composing the room’s space by themselves.
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