OMA has revealed images of the first completed quadrant of the masterplan and renovation of the Kaufhaus Des Westens (KaDeWe) in Berlin, Germany. The project to transform and renovate the department store has been ongoing since 2016.
Photography by Marco Cappelletti
OMA Aims to Redefine Dynamics Between Spaces
The masterplan covers the 90,000 square meters of KaDeWe. It is fragmented into four quadrants. Breaking the original mass of the historic building was done with an aim to enhance the store’s accessibility and make it more navigable. The Rotterdam-based architectural firm gave a different architectural theme for each quadrant to match the different commercial functions and needs and serve all types of audiences: classic, experimental, young, generic… etc. Courtesy of OMA
Courtesy of OMA
The highlight of the first completed quadrant of KaDeWe is the concentric void running from the ground to the sixth floor and featuring a series of wood-clad escalators.
Photography by Marco Cappelletti
The department store masterplan and renovation, led by Ellen Van Loon, Rem Koolhaas, and project architect Natalie Konopelski, is OMA and KaDeWe Group’s first collaboration. Moreover, Ellen Van Loon is currently working on OMA’s design for the new KaDeWe Group department store in Vienna.
The concentric void, at its base, functions both as a retail and event space in the extension of the Tauentzienstraße main entrance. While on the outside, and on the corner of t...