New Podium building
As a new development, the “New Podium” complements the rear face of the “Pressehaus am Alexanderplatz (formerly “Haus des Berliner Verlages”) along Hirten- and Kleine Alexanderstrasse. Its shape responds to the limiting distance spaces: vertical from ground to 3rd floor, inclined along the street fronts from 4th to 7th floor. The inclined surfaces are diagonally divided by a kink ending in the gable peaks. The volume is entirely encased by a glazed envelope and covered by a rigid vertical louver structure of aluminum lamellae with varying lengths and spacing, serving as exterior sun protection and giving the building its characteristic appearance along the street fronts. The main façade consists of an aluminum stick system. Generous two-story “sky lobby” spaces are provided with self-supporting steel frame structures and aluminum add-on profiles. The courtyard between High-rise and New Podium is roofed, divided by two atriums and set off from the uprising façades by skylight strips.