In Between - Design of the New Bauakademie

Situated in the heart of Berlin on the historic Schinkelplatz, the new Bauakademie project occupies one of the city’s most symbolically charged sites. The original Bauakademie, designed in 1836 by the visionary architect Friedrich Schinkel, was a pioneering structure that introduced industrial construction methods into civic architecture—a precursor to modernism long before the Bauhaus. Destroyed during World War II and later erased under GDR planning policies, the site has remained a void within the city’s urban fabric. This competition calls not for a reconstruction, but for a forward-looking interpretation of the Bauakademie’s spirit—an innovative public building that embodies sustainability, education, and democratic engagement in architecture and construction.
The central challenge was to envision a building that could simultaneously reflect the progressive ideals of its historic predecessor and function as a flexible, living institution—a platform for research, education, craft, and public dialogue. It had to be a building as performative and adaptive as the discipline it serves. The brief demanded more than a functional facility; it asked for an architectural statement on the future of building itself.
In our design studio, we were tasked with reimagining the new Bauakademie on the historic site at Schinkelplatz—not as a reconstruction of Schinkel’s original building, but as a forward-looking architectural prototype for the future of public institutions. Working within the virtual cubic boundaries of the original structure, our challenge was to design a building that embodies the spirit of innovation, sustainability, and openness that once defined the Bauakademie. The project was conceived as a platform for education, research, craftsmanship, and cultural exchange in the field of architecture and construction. We were encouraged to question conventions and explore speculative scenarios:​ What if the building was made entirely from recycled or natural materials? What if spatial quality emerged from the interplay of construction and materiality? What if we designed without a fixed program? And what if a public building could be so engaging and adaptable that it would never need to be demolished? Through plans and large-scale physical models, we investigated how architecture can respond to evolving social, environmental, and urban needs—ultimately designing a building as a living exhibition of future-oriented thinking.
In response, my proposal reimagines the Bauakademie as an “Open House”—a flexible, open floor plan layout conceived not as a fixed object, but as an evolving architectural landscape curated by its users.
The main concept revolves around an open floor plan defined by a dynamic spatial system:​ U-shaped floors rotate on each level to create double-height spaces. The core idea is an open layout where four double-height volumes rotate and overlap with one another, establishing strong visual connectivity from the ground to the fourth floor and generating unique ‘in-between’ spaces. The most important design element is the L-shaped core that houses fire stairs and washroom facilities. Uniquely, these two L-shaped cores also rotate at right angles with each level, creating new spatial relationships on each floor. With every rotation, the cores provide distinct backdrops for exhibitions, workspaces, lounges, and seminar areas.
To circulate through the building, four sculptural staircases flow through the double-height volumes. These “communication stairs” blur the boundary between circulation and occupation, offering places to sit, read, work, or observe. They stitch the building together both socially and spatially. As one moves through the building, they maintain visual connections between floors, encouraging curiosity and interaction.
Although the structure uses an open floor plan with fixed columns and two service cores, it also accommodates the need for enclosed spaces such as offices, classrooms, and meeting rooms. A modular ceiling grid allows curtains to be hung wherever needed, enabling users to define space as required:​ large or small, temporary or permanent. This approach transforms the building into a flexible canvas—always in motion, always shaped by its users.
The building has no traditional front or back. With public entrances on all four sides, it dissolves institutional barriers and enhances accessibility. The four vertical staircases operate like internal streets, creating a public spine through the building. A co-working café located on the top floor adds to the social vibrancy and activates the upper levels.
Sustainability is embedded throughout the project. The entire structure—from columns to floor slabs—is built from mass timber, specifically GluLam and CLT, ensuring a low carbon footprint and high aesthetic quality. A modular grid supports programmatic adaptability, while acoustic curtains serve as flexible partitions, allowing rooms to expand, contract, or disappear entirely.
The façade features light-diffusing insulating glass, which enhances daylight penetration while providing solar control, glare reduction, and thermal performance. Its textured layers add visual depth and character to the building's appearance. Operable windows promote natural ventilation, and a green roof supports biodiversity, reduces urban heat gain, and contributes positively to the local environment.
In essence, the new Bauakademie is not a finished object but an open-ended system—a platform for learning, making, exchange, and evolution. It is a public building that challenges the static nature of traditional institutions and embraces architecture as a participatory and adaptive discipline. By reinterpreting historical geometry through contemporary values, the proposal bridges past and future, tradition and innovation. The new Bauakademie envisions itself as a performing art, with its users as curators—actively shaping the space to meet their evolving needs.

 

The design features a flexible open-plan layout organized around four rotating double-height spaces that enhance vertical connectivity and visual transparency. Two L-shaped rotating cores house fire stairs and washrooms, creating varied spatial backdrops on each level. Circulation is facilitated by four sculptural “communication staircases” that link all floors and serve as social hubs. Public entries on all four sides ensure accessibility from every direction, dissolving the traditional front and back. A modular grid allows curtain partitions to define or open up spaces based on function—seminar rooms, offices, or exhibitions—supporting a user-driven spatial configuration. A co-working café on the top floor and the shared public void at the center encourage interaction across functions.

The project follows a sustainability concept grounded in efficiency, consistency, and sufficiency principles. It uses mass timber (GluLam and CLT) for structural elements, a renewable and low-carbon material promoting circularity and cradle-to-cradle ideals. High-performance, light-diffusing insulating glass optimizes daylight while minimizing energy use. Operable windows enable natural ventilation, reducing reliance on mechanical systems. The modular design and removable partitions support adaptive reuse, extending the building’s lifespan and reducing material waste. Additionally, a green roof enhances insulation and biodiversity, contributing to a regenerative, eco-friendly environment.