Barkow Leibinger write about their project: The American Academy in Berlin is located in a villa that was built at the end of the 19th century on an estate on Lake Wannsee. The pavilion gives seven fellows of the academy more room to work. The studies, each 7 square meters in size, are separated by dividing walls with oak cladding. Above the door ledge at a height of 2.15 metres the construction is almost completely open, which produces an uninterrupted horizon beneath the roof. The rooms open onto the garden with transparent glazing and large sliding doors. Opaque partitions to the hallway guarantee a concentrated working atmosphere. The pavilion appears to hover over the green lawn of the garden – an impression that is reinforced in the evening by illumination of the visible roof construction with LED lights. The most striking element of the building is the double curved roof surface consisting of steel beams. The hyperbolic geometry of the roof consists of nine prefabricated frame elements and was resolved longitudinally in lines of double-walled steel ribs. The double-walled steel ribs are connected in pairs. Analogous to the concealed fastening of the glass panes and dividing walls, this forked construction keeps the bolted connections of the roof hidden from view. Four supports connect the roof with the pedestal-like raised steel floor construction. They are used to drain the rainwater and, together with 16 U-shaped steel sections, support the weight of the roof construction at the ends of the dividing walls.

Vote here for this project to win the DETAIL Readers' Prize 2016. Overview of all projects nominated for the Readers' Prize 2016.

Further information

Employees:
Tobias Wenz (Project Manager), Gustav Düsing, Ulrich Fuchs, Annette Wagner

Partners/Planners:
Tendering & construction management: BAL Bauplanungs und Steuerungs GmbH, Berlin / Structure planning: Hörnicke-Hock-Thieroff (HHT), Berlin / Building services & electrical planning: HDH - Ingenieurgesellschaft für technische Gebäudeausrüstung mbH, Berlin / Constructional physics: Müller-BBM, Berlin

Photographer:
Simon Menges, Berlin
Stefan Müller, Berlin