Concrete volumes are fused with an old piano factory to create David Chipperfield’s Berlin office

These create extra space for meetings and offices, leaving the old building to house the majority of the studios. Polished screed serves as flooring and doors are made from hand-painted wooden panels, while a number of surfaces are picked out in veined marble. To achieve this, they closed off the street facade and framed a sequence of semi-private courtyards with the addition of four new building volumes. Photograph by Ute ZscharntInternal finishes are kept as minimal as possible, reflecting the style that the studio has become known for. Photograph by Ute ZscharntConcrete walls have been left unfinished, and are punctured on the facade by six large windows. Photograph by Ute ZscharntThe architects sought to reestablish the same sense of enclosure as the original buildings had created on the site. Photograph by Davide PizzigoniThe final addition is a two-level garden block that serves as a staff canteen. Photograph by Ute ZscharntThe largest of the new additions is the four-storey structure that fronts the street. Photograph by Ute Zscharnt»They are suspended in ambivalence between restoring the situation from before the war damage and a new idea of a block interior,» said a statement from David Chipperfield Architects, who also recently completed a copper-clad office block in China. David Chipperfield’s Berlin team added four concrete blocks to a former piano factory in Mitte to create their studio (+ slideshow). This building houses an exhibition gallery and events spaces, as well as Chipperfield’s own three-level apartment. Photograph by Davide PizzigoniTwo more four-storey blocks adjoin the old piano factory building, which dates back to 1895. Related story: David Chipperfield’s Moganshan Road office building features an all-copper facadeThe renovated and extended complex serves as both a home and studio for the British architect. Photograph by Simon Menges»Simple cubic volumes form independent structures, which can be perceived from different perspectives, while continuing the history of a typical courtyard structure and transforming it into a flowing exterior space,» they added.