EDGE Grand Central raises the bar for the environment as well as the working environment

EDGE Grand Central Berlin is the first German office building to be certified at Gold level by the WELL Building Standard and at Platinum level by DGNB. Here, the Bolwin Wulf architects talk about their thoughts behind the project.

Troldtekt offers documentation packs that specifically document Troldtekt’s impact on relevant criteria and how Troldtekt contributes points under both the WELL and DGNB certifications.

Photo: Olaf Wiechers

If you have an office space at EDGE Grand Central in Berlin, you work in the pulsating heart of the German capital. As the name suggests, the building is located right next to Berlin Hauptbahnhof and caters to solopreneurs, freelancers and small businesses in need of premises in central Berlin.

The client is EDGE, which also has office buildings in Hamburg, London, Luxembourg and Rotterdam. And for EDGE, it is not about simply building attractive workspaces for people and businesses in cities. As part of its ‘Building a zero carbon world’ vision, EDGE has pledged to be carbon-neutral by 2050.

With the construction of Grand Central Berlin, EDGE has taken a solid step towards fulfilling this vision. The office building is the first in Germany to be certified both at Gold level under WELL and at the DGNB certification’s highest level, Platinum.

Building on ‘the wild side’

However, building modern office spaces at the centre of one of Germany’s major infrastructure hubs is not without its challenges.

The northwestern side of Berlin Hauptbahnhof has been nicknamed ‘the wild side’ because the area has been left undeveloped for years. This was not least due to the significant technical challenges involved, the area being sandwiched as it is between railway lines and Berlin’s main traffic arteries. In fact, the site is located right on top of one of the viaducts to the railway station and partly on top of the tunnel to the busy road B96.

The firm of architects Bolwin Wulf devised the solution that convinced the jury. They conceived the Grand Central building as a compass rose, with the tips of the needle pointing in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction.

“The island-like location calls for a characteristic typology and one that is defining of the whole district. The straight lines of the building exterior have therefore been translated into a rhythmic architectural contour,” explains architect and co-founder, Hanns-Peter Wulf from Bolwin Wulf Architects.

This whole idea will stand out even more distinctly when another building is erected on the as yet undeveloped part of the site next to the EDGE Grand Central building.

Focus on technology

Technology also plays a major role in the EDGE Grand Central office building. Everything and everyone in the building are connected via a digital infrastructure designed to make the working lives of users as easy and enjoyable as possible. The digital infrastructure also makes it possible to control the indoor climate in the building – via an app, users can adjust both the temperature, ventilation and light levels via solar shading. The technology also makes it easy to book meeting rooms and find colleagues.

And last, but not least, smart technological solutions keep the energy consumption in check. The system monitors the number of users in the building and adapts the heating according to the predictions.

An interplay of colours with acoustic ulterior motives

The office spaces on all the floors overlook the city – and can be configured into different sizes according to need:

“The building has the typology of a high-rise building. It consists of a central core with several flexibly designed units and workspaces, all oriented towards the exterior environment, and which, thanks to the dynamic principles, are gathered into smaller working groups,” says Hanns-Peter Wulf from Bolwin Wulf.

EDGE Grand Central has no less than 113 well-equipped meeting rooms of various sizes. Here, vibrant colours create a friendly and inviting atmosphere. And a great deal of thought has gone into designing the colour scheme for the building. To ensure good acoustics, Bolwin Wulf has chosen Troldtekt line acoustic panels for the walls in custom colours to match the colour of the carpets – with the wall and the floor coverings combining to create good acoustics as well as a relaxed atmosphere.

In addition to meeting rooms and office workspaces, EDGE Grand Central has plenty of facilities designed to ensure high levels of job satisfaction. For example, four roof terraces as well as fitness, relaxation and massage rooms. Finally, and as quite an unusual feature, users can choose to relax in front of a fire or take a break with a game of table football, table tennis or billiards. In a large communal area, covering an impressive 400 square metres, fruit and breakfast products are available for free.   

 

Online documentation packs

Troldtekt offers documentation packs that specifically document Troldtekt’s impact on relevant criteria and how Troldtekt contributes points under both the WELL and DGNB certifications. The documentation packs have been prepared by Ramboll.

Download documentation pack for WELL

Download documentation pack for DGNB

 

FACTS: EDGE Grand Central

Where? Invalidenstraße/Clara-Jaschke-Str./Emma-Herwegh-Str. 10557 Berlin

Size: 22.800 m2

Completed: 2. kvartal 2020

Number of parking spaces: 80

Architect Bolwin Wulf Architekten

Certifications:

  • WELL Core & Shell Gold (indoor climate and working environment)

  • DGNB Platinum (environment and sustainability)

 

Tenants (companies): Scout24, Oracle, EDGE Workspaces Systeming, Sos Stalking, MoreApp, NORNORM, Rsystems, The Advisory House, Optimo, e-Clients Consulting LP, Infinit Biosystems, Chronomics

See more photos here.