HHF Architects

The fashion center Labels Berlin 2 is a concentration of showrooms for international fashion brands in one building, including public spaces such as an event hall, a restaurant and a lounge at the top floor. The design strategy is based on the adjacent warehouse building Labels 1. The interior spaces of this historical building are strongly characterized by the repetition of arched windows used in the façade. This motif became one of the starting points for the design of the project.

The use of two differently cut sine curves generates a specific aesthetic for both the supporting structure and, in a modified form, for the façade. The result is that the structure and rhythm establish a formative motif for the perception of the new building and link it to the existing neighborhood.

Connected by a heat exchanging device, the whole concrete structure of the building is permeated with water tubes and used as a radiator for heating as well as cooling. The energy consumption for heating and cooling of Labels 2 Berlin is reduced by 40% due to this combined technique of activating the building mass and using water from the Spree River. HHF architects won the international competition among selected architects in September 2007. The building opened in January 2010.

Program:
Fashion Center

Competition:
2007, 1st Prize

Design and Construction:
2007 – 2010

Team:
HERLACH HARTMANN FROMMENWILER
with Cella Hubel and Walter Gloor, Yujin Hirase, Janna Jessen, Tonja Kersting, Okhyun Kim

Building Footprint Area:
1'537 m2

Surrounding Site Improvements Area:
590 m2

Gross Floor Area:
8'191 m2

Useable Floor Area:
6'630 m2

Building Volume:
32'930 m3

Client:
LABELS Projektmanagement GmbH & Co. K

Exhibition:
Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Frankfurt a.M.

Award:
Architekturpreis Berlin 2013