Karstadt Re-Parked

Form follows availability

Reparked – an aesthetic, sustainable harvest and reconfiguration of existing materials that demonstrates the possibilities of re-use – possibly creating the most sustainable retail- and office building in the world.

The architecture of Reparked grows from what is already present on-site in terms of materials, spatial constraints, and the unique possibilities that arise when grasping these as an opportunity to enact positive change. It is a vision of a project where all materials stay on site, recirculated and ‘reparked’ in new, aesthetic configurations.

In the following, we will go through the different aspects of the project’s architectural and urban conception.

About

Sustainability is the core of the project: By reusing and recycling materials directly from the historical Kar- stadt-building, we create something new in a meaningful, functional, and economical way. It is an approach that generates both monetary and cultural value from the transformation as well as enabling the project itself to act as a vessel for learning about a more sustainable future – for everybody involved in the process as well as the building’s future users and for the citizens of Berlin.

We initially took our departure in the material catalogue provided in the brief and expanded it with other ma- terials we deemed relevant to reuse from and on the Karstadt-site. Based on our in-depth understanding of processes for enabling circular building sites as well as
by analyzing the specific on-site materials and how they could be reprocessed, replaced, and reused in different, innovative constellations, we have created a project that lives up to the ambitious requirements of the competition brief.

Sustainable Impact

RESOURCE IMPACT

  • The existing facade, roof and interior materials from the Karstadt store, as well as the car park towards Urban- straße, are dismantled
  • We remove floor 1, 3 and 5 from the car park towards Urbanstraße and cut them to size for reuse. The concrete beams and structural elements are removed as well

INNOVATION IMPACT

  • Structural floor slabs and the raw concrete core remain in the existing car park after the demolition
  • A new highly sustainable hybrid structure is established. The cut-out materials are reused as new facades and structural floor slabs in combination with a new timber structure
  • On the exterior façades, the materials that were taken out in the deconstruction phases, are reused: The concrete beams are reused as an aesthetic self-load-bearing grid facade system, while the existing materials from the Karstadt department store are reused as interior and facade elements. Ideally, no material leaves the site, unless for specific off-site refurbishment or upcycling before being returned.

‘The existing facade, roof and interior materials from the Karstadt store, as well as the car park towards Urban- straße, are dismantled.’

Sustainable Impact

Resource

'Structural floor slabs and the raw concrete core remain in the existing car park after the demolition.'

Sustainable Impact

Developer, NREP in The Architects' Journal

'A new highly sustainable hybrid structure is established. The cut-out materials are reused as new façades and structural floor slabs in combination with a new timber structure.'

Sustainable Impact

Innovation

Location

Berlin, Germany

Clients

Signa

Partners

Signa

Year

2025