The future of Berlin TXL
Concepts for the Urban Tech Republic
As of May 2021, the site of Berlin-Tegel Airport will be developed into a research and industrial park for urban technologies, the Berlin TXL–Urban Tech Republic. The buildings of the airport, holistically designed by von Gerkan, Marg and Partners Architects (gmp), have been listed as historic monuments since 2019 and will be adapted to house new functions. The urban design and architectural heart of the site will remain the central terminal building with entrance hall and tower, which will be transformed by gmp into a start-up and innovation center.
As architects of Berlin-Tegel Airport, gmp was particularly challenged to develop a vision for its subsequent use. In 2008, Meinhard von Gerkan had already sketched out the “TXL plus” concept for an energy-plus city. Under the leadership of Stephan Schütz, there followed studies of various use scenarios for the terminal buildings and for the connection and adaptation of the energy center to the new requirements of the Urban Tech Republic.
In 2019, gmp was commissioned with the refurbishment and conversion of the former main building, the forecourt, and the tower, which together have characterized the unique image of the airport for almost five decades. Opened in 1974, that part of the building served as the central access to the terminal. It includes the lobby with transitions to the hexagonal ring containing the piers. As a start-up and innovation center, the main building will form the Forum of the future research and industrial park for urban technologies. In addition to an events and conference center, this will accommodate start-up companies; it will also house Tegel Projekt GmbH, the company commissioned by the State of Berlin to develop the site.
The conceptual design combines the energy efficiency upgrade of the buildings with a room layout that exposes the characteristic triangular structure so that it can be experienced. New vertical circulation routes link the building with the future publically accessible areas of the former airfield, thus overcoming the hitherto strictly horizontal layering of the airport functions. The lower levels are intended to accommodate conference areas, showrooms, workshops, and studios. Wide, open staircases connect the future Campus Plaza to the north with the Balcony of the Republic, the previous access level, which will become a place of congregation. Surrounding the former lobby, the future Agora, there will be public functions and prestigious areas, as well as the conference center. At the interface to the former Terminal A, eateries and lounges will create a flowing transition to the publically accessible areas of Beuth University in the former ring containing the piers. Furthermore, gmp is proposing to make active use of the roof areas either via gastronomy or urban gardening.
From the second to the fourth upper floors, a new central spiral staircase will link the offices that are strung along a shared communication zone. Here, the triangular reinforced concrete skeleton structure with a ten-meter grid defines the shape of the modularly combinable office units of 20, 50, or 75 square meters, the walls of which are aligned with the exposed structural beams. The characteristic external shape of the buildings will be retained. With a new glazed front, amongst other measures, the energy efficiency and technical upgrade is intended to meet current standards and to obtain DGNB Platinum certification. In cooperation with agn Niederberghaus & Partner, gmp has developed the basic concept for the conversion of the hexagonal ring containing the piers for Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin, ensuring that the architectural qualities of the building will be retained. Therefore, the triangular construction grid will remain exposed and visible in the building ring as well as in the main building. The inner forecourt, the conceptual core of the “drive-in airport” (Berlin-Tegel), will be remodeled to form a skywalk that links with the former terminal entrances via small bridges. In this way, the forecourts from where the distance to the aircraft only measured 30 meters are retained within the future green campus center.
