The competition site is in the Tiergarten park to the south of the Bellevue palace at the eastern extremity of the new governmental quarter ‘Spreebogen’. The brief required an office building for the Presidential administration. The project puts a great emphasis on integrating the new building into the surrounding park landscape, protecting historic views of the palace. Particular attention was paid to the technical requirements for a building that respects the environment. Passive means of building climate control were utilised. The project is in the form of a planted embankment reducing steadily in height from its apex as it approaches the existing palace.The embankment protects the building from the south and extreme temperature variations. The mass of the sloping roof acts as a reservoir for heat and cool. The glazed facade gives onto the North and the palace eliminatin gun wanted solar gain and giving a good even natural daylighting. Blind storage spaces occupy the heart of the section. The Secretary of State and the offices of the ex president are locatedin a separate building which signals the entrance located at the junction between the palace and its new extension.
