The French-German architects chaixetmorel. have been commissioned to renovate the listed Terminal B of the former Berlin-Tegel Airport, as part of the overall project "Forschungs- und Industriepark Berlin TXL – The Urban Tech Republic", in collaboration with Schüssler-Plan GP GmbH Berlin, in a negotiation process in the fall of 2022. The prominent building complex is the centerpiece of the new urban development quarter Urban Tech Republic, which will accommodate over 1,000 large and small companies, with 20,000 employees working in the areas of research, development, and production.
The aim of the renovation of Terminal B is to create an innovation and start-up center for the technology industry, similar to the well-known Parisian start-up cluster Station F in the Austerlitz-Rive gauche district. Additionally, more than 2,500 students, along with the renowned Berlin University of Technology, will move into the adjacent hexagonal building of the airport.
The future start-up center in Terminal B will provide modern workspaces of approximately 30,000 m2, including coworking spaces, FabLabs, MakerSpace areas, a conference center, restaurant-cafeteria zones, and other meeting spaces in the historic airport concourse. The concept of chaixetmorel. takes into account the requirements of building development in growing cities of the 21st century, including the efficient use of energy, sustainability in building, preservation of still usable building substance, the use of new materials, and flexible use of the resulting spaces.
Building in listed buildings, as well as the conversion of existing areas and building substance, has been part of the expertise of the Paris and Berlin-based chaixetmorel. office for two decades. In other projects, such as the multi-year renovation of the Petit Palais in Paris or the conversion of a former fire station into a creative hub, the office has already successfully demonstrated how old and new can be combined in a successful way.
The listed original building by architects Meinhard von Gerkan, Volkwin Marg, and Klaus Nickels will be preserved in its iconic form and adapted to the future use with a few targeted interventions. The German-speaking partners at chaixetmorel., Walter Grasmug and Jan Horst, emphasize that the renovation of the airport is not only a thermal and energy-technical renovation but also aims to transfer the atmosphere of the former airport into the present in the most positive sense. This also means that subsequent installations made over the decades will be removed to make the design advantages of the building by Von Gerkan, Marg, and Nickels visible and tangible.
The renovation of the airport and its realignment as Urban Tech Republic create an important development area for Berlin, which receives special attention due to its significance for the city and its historical relevance. With their approach and sensitive approach, chaixetmorel. makes a significant contribution to this neuralgic location in the German capital.
