The most immediately obvious sign of this change is the building’s colour. Once plain white, the building is now a sunshine yellow all over, drawing attention to the campus from both near and far. Once visitors enter the campus, they will immediately encounter another clear sign: from the central plaza of Atelier Gardens, a zig-zagging yellow stair-scape, dotted with seating and viewing platforms framing views of Tempelhofer Feld and the Berlin skyline, leads directly to the roof of HAUS 1. “From the roof, one can witness the entire skyline of Berlin's urban landscape, with Tempelhofer Feld as its front yard,” highlights Van Rijs.

There the building has been extended with a timber pavilion of cross-laminated prefab modules, with bio-based materials and healthy finishes, such as a clay ceiling. A living roof of native plants completes the newly accessible rooftop which now also serves to collect rainwater, feeding into a comprehensive water retention plan implemented on-site.

Internally, HAUS 1 will host adaptive work and meeting spaces across four floors, including the headquarters of Atelier Gardens and a café. The floorplans have been altered to maximise the building’s flexibility, simplifying future changes in use or layout and thus extending the building’s lifespan.

With its focus on reusing as much of the structure as possible, and giving preference to durable, recyclable materials with a low environmental footprint whenever new material was required, HAUS 1 shows how building transformations can do more with less.