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Futurium Berlin

Futurium
Written by Roma Publications

Futurium Berlin

Situated in the heart of Berlin, the Futurium is an exhibition and events building. The unique development is a museum of the future in Berlin’s government district.

Designed by architects Richter Musikowski, the Futurium makes a striking appearance between the Spree River and the elevated railway. It is a low energy building and has achieved the BNB-Gold sustainability rating.

The Futurium was built in public-private partnership: BAM Deutschland AG, a private partner of the Institute for Federal Real Estate, carried out the project on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as property owner and builder.

The building’s bold design is defined by the façade, which is made up of more than 8000 panels. The 70cmx70cm panels consist of varyingly folded metal reflectors and textured glass with a ceramic print. Constantly changing lighting conditions generate an ever-changing cloud image. Two large windows, one at the north end of the building and one at the south, boasts spectacular views of the city.

Moving into the building, the ground floor foyer is a connection point for all essential routes and functions of the building. The foyer is home to a cloakroom, restrooms, a café and a shop.

Flexibility is central to the ground floor events space that can be configured into spaces ranging from 50 to 670m2 through the use of mobile walls and intelligent building services. Daylight, light-coloured and acoustically active services, projectors and a barrier-free design help create the ideal environment for future thinking.

On the lower level, a subterranean laboratory provides visitors with a hands-on experience of the future. An extraordinary atmosphere is delivered through the use of dark-coloured exposed concrete, black asphalt floors and a ceiling grid make of 126 fluorescent screens. At the top of the building, an exhibition space is accessed via a central stairway or the visitor lifts. Divided into three zones, the space totals approximately 3000m2. Finally, the roof is home to a skywalk that offers spectacular views of the Berlin skyline.

Some of the Futurium’s sustainable elements include rain water collection via the roof. Slant surfaces direct water to its lowest point where it is then collected in a cistern. The roof is also covered with photovoltaics and solar panels to help keep the building’s energy demand to a minimum.

The construction of the building was completed in September 2017. To mark the occasion, a ceremonial handover of keys was held in the presence of Federal Minister Professor Dr Johanna Wanka. Following this event, the Futurium opened its doors for one whole day to allow visitors to discover more about its purpose. Approximately 15,000 people passed through the doors and enjoyed extensive family programmes, artistic highlights, discussions and lectures.

The Robotics Lab in the basement of the building enticed visitors to participate in the RoboCup, a football tournament of intelligent robots. This is also where visitors created their own robots in order to have them compete against each other in the Hebocon scrap-robot competition. The robot band “Compressorhead: Made of Metal, Built to Rock” also received a lot of attention with its performances in the forecourt.

To find out more, please visit www.futurium.de/en.

Futurium

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Roma Publications