The decision of the Sony Music Group to move from Munich to Berlin-Schoeneberg into the new building designed by Gewers Pudewill Architects had to do not least with the traces of David Bowie and Iggy Pop and their stay in Berlin in 1976. People were looking for independence, urbanity, authenticity and modernity. With the new European headquarters on the corner of Bülowstrasse and Steinmetzstrasse in Berlin-Schöneberg, the Sony Music Group encounters an environment that significantly shaped the music scene of the 1970s and 1980s.
The double facade in the area of Bülowstraße serves to optimize the sound of the new building, while at the same time giving the white structure an even clearer effect. Due to the sensitive staggering of the building structure in Steinmetzstraße towards the residential buildings, several spacious roof terraces are created. The curved facade is repeatedly broken up by loggias, which give it a special depth. The rounded corners on the upper floors give the new headquarters an unexcited dynamic that continues inside the building.
Glamour-Punk
Floor-to-ceiling windows on the ground floor reveal meeting islands with circular ceiling lights and tables, as well as light and dark orange chairs surrounded by translucent profiled glass and billowing curtains. The interior design was designed by Studio Karhard, who also designed the Berlin club Berghain. The result is a sound-oriented work landscape with surprising solutions.
“Sony is an entertainment company and not a cool tech company. That’s why there are so many playful, colorful elements here,” says Thomas Karsten, architect and co-founder of Studio Karhard from Berlin, which is responsible for the interior design. Stylistically, the rooms are characterized by the glamor punk of the 1970s and 1980s with lots of steel, glass and glitter. Visitors encounter an aura of creative, glamorous nonchalance, regardless of whether they are in the offices, the conference areas, the recording studio or the modern music and function rooms. A representative area with a large roof terrace and a sound-insulated music room has been created on the fifth floor. In the middle, a four meter long stainless steel bar rests on two round, ceramic-clad pillars.
In the sign of the circle
The circular theme runs through to the sanitary areas on all floors – from the wash basins, mirrors and coat hooks to the walls with round mosaic tiles. Depending on the component, these appear in shades such as ivory or anthracite, combined with light or dark gray joints and white or anthracite-colored sanitary objects. The lemon-yellow round mosaic in the sanitary rooms on the ground floor sets a special color accent and deliberate contrast to the black control room and white recording room. “On the one hand, we chose mosaic tiles because of the reference to the 1970s, when this type of ceramic was very popular,” says Karsten. “On the other hand, larger tile formats would have been absolutely unsuitable in view of the many rounded walls and the double-curved edges of the numerous planters.”
Further information:
Mosaic tiles: Agrob Buchtal
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