OMA proposes an unbelievable extension for Berlin's KaDeWe store
19/01/2016.
[BER] Germany
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
The Rotterdam-based OMA firm, led by Rem Koolhaas, received the commission to renovate and extend the Berlin's KaDeWe store (Kaufhaus des Westens), a century-old building with 60,000 square metres of retail space, with the addition of a glass rooftop extension and the introduction a series of sculptural new staircases.
Model. New KaDeWe Store by OMA. Image courtesy of OMA.
Rendering, inside vision. New KaDeWe Store by OMA. Image courtesy of OMA.
Rendering, inside vision. New KaDeWe Store by OMA. Image courtesy of OMA.
Rendering, inside vision. New KaDeWe Store by OMA. Image courtesy of OMA.
Model plan. New KaDeWe Store by OMA. Image courtesy of OMA.
Model. New KaDeWe Store by OMA. Image courtesy of OMA.
Rendering. New KaDeWe Store by OMA. Image courtesy of OMA.
Outside night vision, rendering. New KaDeWe Store by OMA. Image courtesy of OMA.
Model. New KaDeWe Store by OMA. Image courtesy of OMA.
Diagram. New KaDeWe Store by OMA. Image courtesy of OMA.
Diagram. New KaDeWe Store by OMA. Image courtesy of OMA.
Historical process. Diagram. New KaDeWe Store by OMA. Image courtesy of OMA.
Brand. Diagram. New KaDeWe Store by OMA. Image courtesy of OMA.
The transformation project, proposed by OMA, treats the structure as four connected shops, redefining its curren model and relationship with its patrons and with its physical and urban environments.
OMA introduces four quadrants or four connected shops, each with its own entrance and circulation spaces. The aim is for each "quadrant" to have its own identity. The new fragments are similar to distinct urban sectors embedded into a unified city fabric.
Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe), the Historic Berlin Department Store, to be Renovated by OMA
The renovation plans of the historic Berlin department store Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe) by OMA have been unveiled.
Department stores were one of the pillars of early modern retail, acting as an incubator for sophisticated crafts, social exchange and challenging experimentation in services. The transformation will address KaDeWe’s desire to redefine its current model, and relationship with its patrons and with its physical and urban environments.
OMA’s proposal is tactical: rather than treating the existing building as a singular mass, the project introduces four quadrants. The new components fragment the original mass into smaller, easily accessible and navigable components – similar to distinct urban sectors embedded into a unified city fabric.
With this project, OMA addresses accelerating shifts in consumer behavior and the challenges brought by online retail that have affected the tradition department store model.
In addition to a new building for the Axel Springer media group, this is OMA’s second ongoing project in Berlin. Built projects in Berlin include the Netherlands Embassy (2003) and Checkpoint Charlie Apartments (1990).
More information
Architects
OMA. Architects.- Rem Koolhaas, Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli. Associate.- Alex de Jong.
Teams
Concept team.- Giacomo Ardesio, Sandra Bsat, Janna Bystrykh, Paul Cournet, Alice Grégoire, Piotr Janus, Aleksandar Joksimovic, Francesca Lantieri, Barbara Materia, Romea Muryn, Salome Nikuradze, Alessandro De Santis, Miguel Taborda.
Design Development team.- Sandra Bsat, Mariano Sagasta Garcia, Luis Guzman Grossberger, Aleksandar Joksimovic, Felix Perasso, Rita L. Álvarez-Tabío Togores.
Collaborators
Management: SMV Bauprojektsteuerung Ingenieursgesellschaft. Structural Engineer: IBK Ing. - Büro für Tragwerksplanung. Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Engineers: IBT Ingenieurbüro Trache. Local Architects: Architekturbüro Udo Landgraf, Heine Architekten Partnerschaft.
Client
KaDeWe Group.
OMA. Office for Metropolitan Architecture
Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) is an international practice operating within the traditional boundaries of architecture and urbanism. AMO, a research and design studio, applies architectural thinking to domains beyond. OMA is led by eight partners – Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van Loon, Shohei Shigematsu, Iyad Alsaka, Chris van Duijn, Jason Long, and Managing Partner-Architect David Gianotten – and maintains offices in Rotterdam, New York, Hong Kong, Doha, and Australia. OMA-designed buildings currently under construction are the renovation of Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe) in Berlin, The Factory in Manchester, Hangzhou Prism, the CMG Times Center in Shenzhen and the Simone Veil Bridge in Bordeaux.
OMA’s completed projects include Taipei Performing Arts Centre (2022), Audrey Irmas Pavilion in Los Angeles (2020), Norra Tornen in Stockholm (2020), Axel Springer Campus in Berlin (2020), MEETT Toulouse Exhibition and Convention Centre (2020), Galleria in Gwanggyo (2020), WA Museum Boola Bardip (2020), nhow RAI Hotel in Amsterdam (2020), a new building for Brighton College (2020), and Potato Head Studios in Bali (2020). Earlier buildings include Fondazione Prada in Milan (2018), Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow (2015), De Rotterdam (2013), CCTV Headquarters in Beijing (2012), Casa da Música in Porto (2005), and the Seattle Central Library (2004).
AMO often works in parallel with OMA's clients to fertilize architecture with intelligence from this array of disciplines. This is the case with Prada: AMO's research into identity, in-store technology, and new possibilities of content-production in fashion helped generate OMA's architectural designs for new Prada epicenter stores in New York and Los Angeles. In 2004, AMO was commissioned by the European Union to study its visual communication, and designed a colored "barcode" flag, combining the flags of all member states, which was used during the Austrian presidency of the EU. AMO has worked with Universal Studios, Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, Heineken, Ikea, Condé Nast, Harvard University and the Hermitage. It has produced Countryside: The Future, a research exhibited at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York; exhibitions at the Venice Architecture Biennale, including Public Works (2012), Cronocaos (2010), and The Gulf (2006); and for Fondazione Prada, including When Attitudes Become Form (2012) and Serial and Portable Classics (2015). AMO, with Harvard University, was responsible for the research and curation of the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale and its publication Elements. Other notable projects are Roadmap 2050, a plan for a Europe-wide renewable energy grid; Project Japan, a 720-page book on the Metabolism architecture movement (Taschen, 2010); and the educational program of Strelka Institute in Moscow.
