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Architect: Studio Libeskind

Location: Berlin

Building Area: 10,000 sq.m gross area

Starting Date: 2013

Completion: 2017

Photography: Jan Bitter, Hufton Crow

Joint Venture Partner : Architekt Da niel Libeskind AG, Zurich, with Studio Libeskind

Architect of Record : Architekt Daniel Libeskind AG

Client : Chausseestrasse 43 Entwicklungs GmbH

General Contractor/Site: PORR

Structural Engineer/ Mechanical/Electrical/ Plumbing Engineer: PORR

Cost Supervision: Wenzel + Wenzel

Sales: Ziegert Bank

Sapphire Berlin: A Three-dimensional Stoneware Façade with Self-cleaning and Air Purification Aid

This residential commission in Germany brought Daniel Libeskind back to Berlin for his first residential project in the city. The project, located on a busy corner in the Mitte neighborhood in central Berlin, presented a design challenge: how to carve out 73 desirable one – to four – bedroom apartments on a plot measuring a little less than half an acre.

In large part, Studio Daniel Libeskind succeeded by incorporating large angular windows and canted walls that bring in natural light and invoke a feeling of spaciousness. The design team also added a dramatic flourish: atop the roof and visible above the façade is the upward sweep of a double-height glass ceiling and inside, a penthouse with sloping glass walls and access to a roof patio overlooks the city of Berlin.

The three-dimensional, geometric-patterned stoneware tile adorning the façade is another design signature. Designed by Daniel Libeskind for Casalgrande Padana, the panels are technologically engineered to self-clean and aid in air purification.

With retail shops on the ground floor, underground parking, and a common outdoor area, this high-spirited, contemporary complex stands on land where the Wulffersche iron factory once operated before being expropriated from its Jewish owners during World War II.

Architect: Studio Libeskind

Location: Berlin

Building Area: 10,000 sq.m gross area

Starting Date: 2013

Completion: 2017

Photography: Jan Bitter, Hufton Crow

urbanNext (May 22, 2025) Sapphire Berlin: A Three-dimensional Stoneware Façade with Self-cleaning and Air Purification Aid. Retrieved from https://urbannext.net/sapphire-berlin/.
Sapphire Berlin: A Three-dimensional Stoneware Façade with Self-cleaning and Air Purification Aid.” urbanNext – May 22, 2025, https://urbannext.net/sapphire-berlin/
urbanNext December 30, 2017 Sapphire Berlin: A Three-dimensional Stoneware Façade with Self-cleaning and Air Purification Aid., viewed May 22, 2025,<https://urbannext.net/sapphire-berlin/>
urbanNext – Sapphire Berlin: A Three-dimensional Stoneware Façade with Self-cleaning and Air Purification Aid. [Internet]. [Accessed May 22, 2025]. Available from: https://urbannext.net/sapphire-berlin/
Sapphire Berlin: A Three-dimensional Stoneware Façade with Self-cleaning and Air Purification Aid.” urbanNext – Accessed May 22, 2025. https://urbannext.net/sapphire-berlin/
Sapphire Berlin: A Three-dimensional Stoneware Façade with Self-cleaning and Air Purification Aid.” urbanNext [Online]. Available: https://urbannext.net/sapphire-berlin/. [Accessed: May 22, 2025]

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