Berlin, Germany
Ellen van Loon and Rem Koolhaas and their team at OMA, together with local German architecture offices Architekturbüro Udo Landgraf, Heine Architekten Partnerschaft mbB, and Aukett + Heese GmbH., have embarked on an ambitious plan to renovate and refurbish the historic department store KaDeWe within 4 new quadrants as the main theme.
KaDeWe is the 2nd largest department store in Europe and was opened on 27. March 1907.
Since its opening, KaDeWe has always been at the forefront of product selection, while also setting new standards for customer services.
Its unique size – the biggest department store in continental Europe – makes it akin to a city: a three-dimensional network of paths, squares, neighborhoods, activities, and views unfolding through its large extensions, providing opportunities for commercial, social and cultural encounters.
Its evolution reflects Germany’s modern history: from its origins in the early 20th century, through WWII destructions and the subsequent rebirth in the 1950s when it became a symbol of the country’s post-war reconstruction and economic success.
Its evolution reflects Germany’s modern history: from its origins in the early 20th century, through WWII destructions and the subsequent rebirth in the 1950s when it became a symbol of the country’s post-war reconstruction and economic success.
KaDeWe belongs to a consolidated tradition of historical European urban department stores such as Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Selfridges in London, and La Rinascente in Milan.
Historically, these department stores have been some of the pillars of early modern retail, acting as incubators for sophisticated crafts, social exchange, and experimentation in services.
Late 20th century modifications, accelerating global economic shifts and the digital revolution have turned the KaDeWe’s former setup into an obsolete model.
An alternative to the established retail model – a model that redefines the relationship between the department store, its patrons, and its physical and urban environments – is timely.
The master planning and conceptual division are based on OMA, the project control is the responsibility of the SMV Bauprojektsteuerung.
Rather than treating the existing building as a singular mass, the project breaks it into four quadrants, each one with different architectural and commercial qualities, targeted at different audiences: classic, experimental, young, generic.
The four department stores under one single roof fragment the original mass into smaller, easily accessible, and navigable components – similar to distinct urban sectors embedded into a unifying city fabric.
Each quadrant addresses a different street entrance and is organized around its core void, which acts both as a central atrium and a primary vertical circulation space.
Through a process closer to curating than designing, each void is developed specifically, resulting in four distinct spatial experiences and four efficient models of organization within a single department store.
Throughout the nine levels of the building, the voids transform in size and extension, avoiding repetition and making every floor unique: they disappear on the ground floor, morph through the commercial areas, and one of the voids reaches the new rooftop.
A cross-shaped organizational system reinforces the presence of the quadrants on each commercial floor.
It regulates the use of the spaces, the general circulation, the transition between one quadrant and the other, and the relationship between brands and curated spaces, while at the same time allowing the injection of unexpected programs.
The building operates as infrastructure allowing for multiple conditions and uses.
The original vaulted rooftop becomes a compact glass volume, extending organically from the profile of the existing building.
The journey through one of the voids culminates with a final escalator ramp that brings the visitors here for an expansive view of Berlin.
The configuration of the new rooftop creates an open-air courtyard between the new architectural insert and the rest of the building.
Irregular in shape, the courtyard provides a space for outdoor programs and simultaneously unveils the most exciting and yet most secret spaces of KaDeWe: its food laboratories.
Project: KaDeWe Berlin Masterplan
Architects: Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)
Partners in Charge: Ellen van Loon and Rem Koolhaas
Design Team: Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, Alex de Jong, Natalie Konopelski. Giacomo Ardesio, Sandra Bsat, Laurence Bolhaar, Janna Bystrykh, Paul Cournet, Alessandro De Santis, Alice Gregoire, Luis Guzman Grossberger, Sacha Hickinbotham, Piotr Janus, Aleksandar Joksimovic, Francesca Lantieri, Barbara Materia, Romea Muryn, Miguel Taborda, Salome Nikuradze, Rita L. Álvarez-Tabío Togores, Felix Perasso, Mariano Sagasta, Iason Stathatos, Tom Xia, and Weronika Zaborek
Local Architects: Architekturbüro Udo Landgraf, Heine Architekten Partnerschaft mbB, and Aukett + Heese GmbH
Project Managment: SMV Bauprojektsteuerung Ingenieursgesellschaft mbH
Client: KaDeWe Group
Photographers: Marco Cappelletti
