The seven historic buildings on the former brewery site in Berlin-Mitte have been given a new lease of life through adaptive re-use and sensitive restoration spanning six years. The late nineteenth-century buildings will accommodate a new diverse programme with spaces for The Future Lab, a digital development initiative by the medical technology company Ottobock. Other areas have been transformed into co-working spaces with fitness and wellness facilities in the former industrial basements. In the future an expansive beer garden will provide a new location in the city where the original open-air garden was once situated.
The project’s focus was to highlight and preserve the identity of the complex. Traces of usage over time have been preserved and the existing building fabric has been maintained to the greatest extent possible, repairing non-functioning elements instead of replacing them – an approach which reduces waste, saves resources and limits cost. Four new buildings will subsequently complete the Bötzow ensemble in 2025, transforming the location into a new public space in the centre of the city.
Image © Simon Menges