OMA to redesign Berlin's KaDeWe

The Kaufhaus des Westerns department store in Berlin, AKA KaDeWe, has called upon OMA to help 'redefine its current model'

(Image credit: Images courtesy of OMA)

By Ellie Stathaki

last updated 28 October 2022

World leading architecture practice OMA is just as known for its bold new builds, such as the nearly-complete Taipei Performing Art Centre, as it is about its well planned refurbishments and redesigns – the Wallpaper* Best Public Building award-winning Prada Foundation or the Fondaco dei Tedeschi palazzo in Venice, a highly anticipated and currently ongoing project, are prime examples.

The studio's latest addition to the category is the well known Kaufhaus des Westerns department store in Berlin, AKA KaDeWe. The much loved historic establishment – which first opened in 1907 – has been in need of 'redefining its current model', explain the architects, and renovation plans by OMA have just been unveiled.

Pioneering the early modern shopping experience and helping to define retail as we know it today, department stores all over Europe have been acting as incubators for sophisticated crafts, social exchange and challenging experimentation in services, say OMA. The new design will be able to cater for the fast-paced, latest changes in the industry and the contemporary shopper's needs.

In their design solution, OMA broke down the building in four distinct parts, which would help them make the store feel more easily accessible and navigable. Treating the large building like a mini-city with its own 'urban' fabric, they were able to introduce ways of adapting and responding to 'accelerating shifts in consumer behavior and the challenges brought by online retail that have affected the tradition department store model'.

This is the famous Dutch practice's second ongoing project in Berlin – the first one being a new building for the Axel Springer media group. Not that these represent the first time the firm has ever worked in the German capital; the Netherlands Embassy from 2003 and the Checkpoint Charlie Apartments from 1990 are among the practice's notable earlier works there.

Night view of exterior of the bulding — The building, which opened in 1907, needed a strategic architectural update in order to keep up with modern retail's changing world and the needs of contemporary customers

New escalators design — In their new design, OMA broke down the building in four distinct parts, which would help the store become more accessible and navigable

Looking at the large building as a mini city, the architects worked on its urban fabric to adjust its functionality and user experience

Lighting installation glass windows in the mall — One of the two ongoing projects that OMA are currently handling in Berlin, the project is now in design development

INFORMATION

For more information on OMA visit the website (opens in new tab)

Images courtesy of OMA

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Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture Editor at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018) and Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020).