Once the largest and most modern department store of the former GDR, the original building Centrum Warenhaus opened to the public in 1979 in close proximity of Berlin´s Ostbahnhof. After the reunification of Germany the monolithic structure served its intended purpose until its closure due to financial difficulties.

Sold to the property developer SIGNA Real Estate, JASPER ARCHITECTS and Gewers Pudewill won the competition to redesign the building and reuse as much of the old structure as possible.

The design concept saw the 80 x 80m block cut open on all four sides, following a funnel shape and allowing much needed natural light into the inside. The original structure of its five floors left bare and exposed, the architects inserted new structural elements, accentuated by bright colour and chose floor-to-ceiling glass panels for the façade cladding, transforming the interior into modern, light-filled open plan office spaces attractive to Berlin´s ever-hungry start-up scene.