The ‘Bornstedter Feld’ was one of Potsdam’s most important development areas and part of Germany’s horticultural exhibition 2001. On a former military base a new city district with residential spaces, trade and industry was created. The first construction phase, completed in 1999, contained the change of 3000 square metres of former barracks into the ‘Potsdam Centre of Technology’. The centre supports the formation of new companies and young entrepreneurs by offering quickly available space for rent which is part of an existing infrastructure. The new building follows the urbanistic structure of the existing buildings in long, parallel elements and combines the old and the new parts into a modern building complex.
The three new building blocks are east-west oriented, taking up the shape of the old building in the east in a modified way. All four parts of the complex are linked in the north by an elongated trading hall. It provides clear boundaries to the adjoining avenue and separates the public space of the street from the private space in the south. The latter consists of green courtyards, which are reached through a central connecting hall. The hall divides the three long buildings into two parts and links all floors of the centre spatially as well as visually. This ‘infrastructural backbone’ offers joined services such as the reception, management consulting, exhibition spaces and meeting rooms.
As the building’s concept is based on the idea of relatively short-term tenancies, extremely flexible spaces were required. Therefore in the inside large, undivided rooms, with access to separate service areas, are offered. They can be adapted according to the wishes of the respective tenant. In order to not interfere with the useable floor space, the vertical connections are situated in little towers in front of the façade. This clear separation creates an enormous flexibility, which facilitates various structures and possible arrangements for the different floors.
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'pct' Potsdam Centre of Technology |