The design of a new academy for film and television in German Potsdam is the subject of a competition in March 1996. This new building should arise on the terrain of the once notorious Babelsberg Studios. The project is part of the so called ‘Medienstadt Babelsberg’, a large-scale integrated center for media, services, hotel accommodation, living space and recreation.
Our design of the building fills up the whole area of the plan. It opens the entire ground floor physically and visually to allow a view of the green area behind and via a route for slow traffic a projected central park is connected underneath the building with the main entrance.
Metaphorically the building can be seen as a film script. One can run through at on go and pass all parts, but one can also skip pages or chapters.
The ring is an inclining promenade starting from the kernel on street level and ending on the roof of the building. It measures 1800 meters. On several places one can cross the kernel from ring to ring. Also, one can skip several layers by using staircases and elevators.
The design constitutes of a kernel and a ring. The kernel houses some functions with specific demands in space, construction and building physics, such as auditoria, cinema’s, studios and the library. These are stacked in compact mode. In the ring the conventional functions as offices and lecture rooms are located. Here the division of the space is flexible.
Through the transparency of the building the sequence of day and night has a direct influence on the physical appearance of the building. In daytime the linear ring dominates the image, in the evening the labyrinthic kernel is also visible. Then one sees the image of a building without floors.
Concept Design
Academy for film and tv Potsdam-Babelsberg DE
Collaborating Architects: Hüsnü Yegenoglu and Ruud van Putten
Graphic design and text: Elise Steilberg
2D drawings: Atelier Bouwkunde
Building 32.850 M2 incl. roof terrace outside functions, 94.380 M3
Inside promenade 1800 M in length
Common functions:
auditoria, cinema’s, library, cafeteria and administration
Educational departments:
photography, video editing, film editing, music, dance, animation, computer animation, theatre