HEWI Mag / References

HEWI impresses at Stream Tower Berlin

What was still missing from the popular business milieu of Berlin's trendy Friedrichshain/Kreuzberg district? Exactly: A tower! In the midst of the sought-after office location Mediaspree and in a prominent position between Warschauer Straße and the old Postbahnhof, the Stream Tower "pleats" 24 floors towards the sky, almost like a sculpture. In 2017, the Austrian real estate and retail company Signa acquired this site in the district, which is located in the direct vicinity of the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

The executors of the project, Berlin architectural firm Gewers Pudewill, have produced a fascinating building that communicates with its creative and inspiring environment. Due to its deliberate reduction to the materials concrete and glass, the office tower, which was completed in 2022, displays a clarity that lends it a certain – quite intentional – hardness. At the same time, the architecture seems lively and extravagant due to the strong angular structure of the façade.

From a kind of glass base of seven floors, the tower stretches 97.5 metres towards the sky, floor by floor alternately offset in "an interesting, urban sculpture", as Gewers Pudewill put it. The dynamic projections and recesses in the façade form large balconies and terraces on all levels. Meandering horizontal bands of exposed concrete give the building structure and provide an interesting accent. The glass shell makes the tower appear in a different light from every viewing direction and depending on the position of the sun, thus emphasising its lively and multi-layered cubature.

Transparency and light create space for unfolding and evolving

The predominantly glass skin also unfolds its effect inside: With its large floor-to-ceiling windows, it offers a breathtaking view of the entire city and provides plenty of daylight for a friendly and open loft-like atmosphere. Thus, the approximately 2,500 employees in the Stream Tower find working conditions that offer plenty of room for inspiration, communication and innovation. The principles of clarity and material reduction continue: The core of the building, with access via elevators and stairs, is in exposed concrete; exquisite black and white terrazzo floors combine elegance with pronounced robustness.

HEWI SOLUTIONS MEET HIGH STANDARDS OF QUALITY AND FUNCTION

In the sanitary areas, in addition to the high demands on quality and aesthetics, great importance was attached to functional use. With regard to accessibility, attention was primarily focused on the details.
Series 801 from HEWI, Germany's first barrier-free range that has become established as a classic, fits seamlessly into the architectural concept of the Stream Tower with its reduced design in timeless white: With its ergonomic properties, the user-optimised design of the tiltable mirror with cord re-routing and handle for adjustment, as well as the sanitary accessories of the 477 series with the waste bin, hygiene bag dispenser, toilet brush holder, paper towel basket, supports the movement sequences and comfortably compensates for limitations.