HENN’s Zalando BHQ-Z Building topped out in Berlin and, once completed, will strengthen the city’s identity as a tech hub. The project is the last structure to be built within the HENN’s three-building headquarter complex for Zalando. The design reinterprets the traditional Berlin block through a Z-shaped plan that transforms the usually private, interior courtyard into an inviting public space. At the same time, the building’s voids create a dialogue with the surrounding built environment.
The office floorplans are organized around two spiralling atriums, a full height one open to the public and one stretching from the third to the top floor designed for employee access. These voids establish a visual connection between the workspaces, and the pinch point between them becomes the social centre of the building. The workplace layout is based on HENN’s extensive expertise in designing future-oriented work environments and reflects the firm’s concept of Office Urbanism, which interprets the office as a micro-city. The strategy creates a flexible setting for various activities that gradually transitions from private spaces to more public ones.
The BHQ-Z Building is a next-generation work environment whose architecture completely dissolves the boundaries between fixed and collaborative workspaces, public and private, digital and physical. The office has become a true place of exchange - Martin Henn, HENN Managing Director and Head of Design.
The project is scheduled for completion in 2023. HENN’s upcoming projects include Google Office in Berlin, Westlake University in Hangzhou and Continental Headquarters in Hannover, all to be completed this year.
Area GFA: 17,134 sqm
Partner In Charge: Daniel Festag
Design Leads: Martin Henn, Klaus Ransmayr
Project Leader: Martina Fabre
Team: Aselya Iskakova, Reiner Beelitz, Maria Vrahimi, Giovanni Betti, Michael Sadomskyj, Emiliano Lupo, Dirk Breuer, Ralph Hempel, Anne Henkel, Andre Serpa, Denise Gellinger, Oliver Koch, Peter Lee, Matthias Palloch
Consultants: MuP Braunschweig (TGA), Lumen³ (Lighting design), Werner Sobek (Building physics), Werner Sobek (Structural engineering), Werner Sobek (Facade planning)
