Zack

Schlossstrasse in southwestern Berlin is a shopping street and thoroughfare that is at least as bustling as Kürfurstendamm or Friedrichstrasse downtown. Architecturally it is characterized by numerous urban residential buildings dating from the period before World War I and commercial buildings constructed between the seventies and the nineties.

The building occupies a corner property, with its narrow side facing Schlossstrasse and its long side Ahornstrasse. The shell of reinforced concrete is partially clad with aluminum panels that are, depending on the light, either a matte gray-white or whitegray. Both façades catch the eye in the striking aesthetic contrast between solid and transparent surfaces, which has a legitimate function throughout the building.

In order to encourage passersby to enter, the sporting goods store—which displays its merchandise on the lower level, ground floor, and second and third floors—presents itself as a largely glass structure with horizontal, floor-to-ceiling windows. The recess on the level of the fourth floor, the balustrade on the length of balcony, and the vertical, also floor to-ceiling windows on the fourth and fifth floor articulate the building’s office area.

The main entrance is, of course, on Schlossstrasse. The entrance to the offices is on Ahornstrasse in the back section of the building. What’s more, the building could potentially house two separate stores. The sales floors can be divided in two from the lower level to the third floor. The entrance to the second store would be situated on Ahornstrasse. This entrance would be sufficiently accentuated, given the solid surfaces to the left and right of the central glass segment of the building.