This project involved the refurbishment of a 19th century ice storage warehouse into a modern and flexible office space.
Hyphen was appointed by global workspace provider, Techspace, in 2018 to help deliver their largest co-working location to date. Built at the end of the 19th century, the former ice storage warehouse was one of the first in Europe and our brief was to retain as much of the character of the building as possible, whilst also making it work as a modern and flexible office space.
From the outset, Techspace were keen to ensure that their design layouts would provide maximum flexibility for the future. Adhering to Techspace’s layouts whilst coordinating mechanical and electrical services presented a challenge – particularly, as part of the design included M&E being exposed on the ceiling. We also left the original brickwork on the walls exposed to give a nod to the building’s previous function as a former cooling house.
The design remains faithful to the context, location and history of the building and we helped to preserve heritage features such as the lift shaft by transforming it into a contemporary light installation – successfully combining the old with the new.
Drawings, documentation and design meetings were managed by Hyphen’s London office (as Techspace are based in London) whilst Hyphen’s Berlin office provided local technical advice.
Photographs © Techspace
“This project reinforced the importance of collaboration and it was great to see that the whole design team, developer, contractor and client shared the same vision. Together, we’ve delivered a truly remarkable office space with flexibility and restoration at the heart of its design. ”
– Wayne Taylor, Director
4,600
sqm
Berlin
Location
Executive architecture
Service