GEZE - Sony Center,

Sony

Center, Berlin

Architecture office: Helmut Jahn Architects, Berlin

Due to its innovative , the Sony Center at in Berlin represents a new symbol for the city. The complex comprises seven buildings and contains offices (68,000 m2), apartments (26,500 m2), a picture house (17,500 m2), the Urban Entertainment Center (17,000 m2) as well as areas for retailing and restaurants (8,100 m2). The main feature of the design by architect Helmut Jahn is the oval shape of the covered Forum which is impressive in its generosity. The buildings of the Sony Center are grouped around the public square. Other outstanding features are the office tower at Potsdamer Platz and the building for Sony Europe at Kemperplatz. These unusual shapes with their high technical standard forge a mental and architectural connection to the neighbouring buildings of the Cultural Forum and in particular to the Berliner Philharmonie by Hans Scharoun.

The catering area was amongst others fitted with extraordinarily inclined sliding doors http://www.geze.de/542+M588e403ed55.html?&print=1 (1 of 3)7/30/2007 4:48:53 PM GEZE - Sony Center, Berlin

with Slimdrive SL drive.

Service Engineers Large parts of the technical services, including ventilation, air conditioning and cooling were designed by IGH. The IGH Group is an independent grouping of companies based on partnership principles. The companies belonging to the IGH group provide comprehensive engineering services for building construction on a national and international level.

The Architect The transparent and futuristic architecture in glass and steel was created by Helmut Jahn, Managing Director of the practice Murphy & Jahn. Helmut Jahn was born in 1940 in . In 1965 he graduated at Technical University in . At the age of 26, the young architect emigrated to Chicago. After completing one year of postgraduate studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology in the United States, he designed and realised a number of trend setting buildings. In 1980 he was awarded an honorary doctorship at St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame (Indiana). In 1982 he became managing director of the architectural practice Murphy/ Jahn in Chicago. From 1981 he was visiting professor at several American universities such as Harvard and Yale and in 1982 he was appointed Professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Helmut Jahn has won a great number of competition awards as well as being called to sit on the panel of judges. One of many of Helmut Jahn’s projects is the Messe Tower (1991) which became a symbol as the Rhein-Main Metropolis and is one of the highest buildings in Europe; also the Illinois Center (1985) and the United Airline Terminal (1987) in Chicago. In Berlin, he has already completed two projects – the buildings at Kurfürstendamm 70 (1994) and at Kurfürstendamm 119 (1995).

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