The Netherlands

West 8 urban design & landscape architecture b.v.

Nico Koomanskade 1021
3072 LM Rotterdam
The Netherlands

+31 (0) 10 485 5801

Belgium

West 8 Brussels urban design & landscape architecture bvba

Waaienberg 123
1745 Opwijk
Belgium

+31 (0) 10 485 5801

United States

West 8 urban design & landscape architecture p.c.

2133 Arch Street, Suite 101
Philadelphia, PA 19103
United States of America

+1 347 371 2252

Re-embracing Berlin's waterfront

Harbor Tempelhof Berlin, DE

Preserving the harbor’s historical heritage meeting the logistics and needs of a contemporary shopping mall

At an abandoned former industrial used harbor site a commercial investor planned to realize a water related shopping mall. The new mall is partially located in a 19th century warehouse built in a typical Berlin urban style. The harbor and its surrounding buildings are appointed as industrial monuments. The warehouse with its industrial windows, gates and cranes on rails is the iconic center of the harbor site for which West 8 designed in 2005 the winning competition plan.

The Hafen Tempelhof site is attached to the Teltower canal. Harbor and canal are both situated 8 meters lower than the rest of the city texture of Berlin. The height difference divides the project area into two distinct places: The “Berlin balcony” with the main entrances to the shopping mall and the “Tempelhofer Hafen” which creates a nautical sphere. In the harbor area, different restaurants and a children’s daycare are embedded in a world of cranes, rails, boats, steel fences, wooden boardwalks and natural stone quays. The balcony is created with typical Berlin materials: granite paving patterns and tilia trees. The balcony edge is defined by a transparent steel railing with a warm wooden handle. The railing invites visitors to enjoy the view over the lower maritime harbor site.

Client
Grundstücksgesellschaft, Objekt Tempelhofer MBH & CO. KG

Partners
REM tec, SINAI, Inros Lackner

Imagery
© West 8