Federal Ministry
Berlin

We are planning a contemporary administrative building—a carefully hewn volume that, beyond the refined reflections of natural stone, asserts its independence through a glass-tiled façade rendered in the tone of the existing structure. Nevertheless, it effortlessly integrates into the architecturally coherent existing complex and completes it in an unforced manner.

Above the glass podium of the inviting exhibition spaces rises a perforated façade that, in its interplay, exudes a strict character reminiscent of both a school and a ministry. This façade demonstrates openness and self-assurance in a dialogical relationship with the ministry’s existing structure, while also accommodating the potentially mediocre aspects of its western and southern neighbors without compromise.

The planning regulations are observed, and the permitted average eave heights are not exceeded. In the area adjoining the existing building, the new structure gracefully recedes, facilitating an interplay between a stony street and a verdant courtyard.

The upper floors—carefully showcased above the exhibition spaces—casually direct the gaze of those arriving from the west toward the ministry’s actual main entrance beneath the genuine arches; meanwhile, the oblique alignment of the front facades almost crystallizes into a sculpture as one approaches the ministry from the south after emerging from the subway.

Everything is underpinned by a design philosophy—a fundamentally conservative idea—of doing the same, but not the same; of speaking the same language with a different dialect. As a result, the planned setting thereby lacks the cheeky claim to permanence.