The SPREE ONE project in Berlin is sited at the confluence of the Spree River and the Landwehr Canal in the northern part of Charlottenburg. Comprising private apartments, office and retail space, and a children’s day-care centre, the new building replaces a 1960s predecessor that used the entirety of the site. This is now opened up by the meandering shape of the new architecture, which redefines the surrounding urban space. A ten-storey section along the Landwehr Canal fills the gap between the Spreeresidenzen ensemble and the adjacent administrative building. To the west, a garden will replace a dilapidated multistorey car park. Another garden will be planted on the roof of the east-facing retail spaces along Dovestrasse. Bands of yellow brick alternating with rendered string courses accentuate the façade’s horizontal articulation. The new tower building facing the canal benefits from its alignment with the central axis of Cauerstrasse giving its illuminated façade a striking visual impact in the nocturnal cityscape.
The Spree One complex demonstrates how functional versatility and harmonious architectural design can serve to integrate a large-scale project into an urban district while at the same time injecting it with new life.