Ludwig Erhard House

The new building of the Berlin stock exchange is situated in quite a complicated environment. The proximity to the main zoo station is certainly an advantage, but the shape of the plot, which follows the street line on one side but irregularly retreats on the other side, is not. Grimshaw brilliantly adapted the main load-bearing structure of the building to the plot and almost completely occupied it. The primary load-bearing arches are jointed at the furthest points of the plot, with a secondary system of cables suspended from them and the ceilings anchored to those cables.
The height of the load-bearing arches varies according to the span, but its value does not drastically drop or rise in a rhythmic series, creating a pleasant organic skin that gives the entire building the shape of a shell (visible from the model...).
The use of materials in the building adheres to the classic Grimshaw aesthetic of metal and glass + designed cast iron. The magnificent interiors of the atria with moving elevator capsules, bridges connecting parts of the office blocks, staircases with handrails, restrooms - all of this is designed down to the last detail and exudes a fresh spirit of the aesthetic high-tech that Grimshaw advocates.