URBANISM CASE STUDY
REM KOOLHAAS NETHERLANDS EMBASSY SENIOR STUDIO
PROJECT BY: DAN DAVIS, NICHOLAS HANSFORD, BRYAN PAVALSAK, PATRICK SMALL
BERLIN GERMANY DUTCH EMBASSY
BERLIN 1940 PRE WWII
DUTCH EMBASSY BERLIN WALL
DENSITY
VEHICULAR/RAILWAY
EMBASSIES
AXIAL RELATIONSHIP
BERLIN 1953 POST WWII
BERLIN 1989 DIVISION
CONNECTIVITY
In the 1900’s Berlin, Germany underwent a drastic change from a powerful city to a destructive environment. After Berlins collapse, the city was divided between pollitical powers of the east and west. It was not until 1991, that Berlin became one unifed power. The city now undergoes the period of growth and prosperity.
BERLIN 2001 RE-BUILD
BERLIN 2010 GROWTH
BARRIER & RESTRAINTS
PATH TO PUBLIC REALM
After 1989 when the symbolic restrictions of the Berlin Wall came down the German government decided to relocate the government administration to the formerly communist run area of Berlin. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs chose to relocate the embassy to a lot in this area that had been vacant since World War II. The requirements for the new embassy design were that it incorporate the necessary security for civil servants, while maintaining the presence of an open and accessible Dutch design. Rem Koolhaas designed the structure to represent the connection between the Dutch river trade and Berlin. The design that won Koolhaas the commission of the embassy consisted of a cube elevated on a pedistal. However, the zoning codes of Berlin required that the building extend to all four corners of the site. Koolhaas created a solution to satisfy the restrictions while keeping the original program. He added a L shaped residental wing that incorporates bridges to connect to the main cube, thus creating an open plaza and expanding the footprint to the required zoning restrictions. The main building acts as the work center for the embassy with the circulation ramping around the inner workings of the structure. The second and third levels create a promenade that follows the east facade of the building creating a gallery to the city and the river. While on the west facade the VIP room cantilevers out from the building like a pulpit above the internal court. The visual relationship from the park on the south side through north side of the building offers a view of the Berlin T.V. tower, creating an axial relation between the Dutch embassy and Berlin.