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Daniel Libeskind Sapphire project in Berlin

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Daniel Libeskind

Polish-American architect, Daniel Libeskind is an international figure in architecture and urban design. Informed by a deep commitment to music, philosophy, and literature, Mr. Libeskind aims to create architecture that is resonant, original, and sustainable.

Libeskind established his architectural studio in Berlin, Germany, in 1989 after winning the competition to build the Jewish Museum in Berlin. In February 2003, Studio Libeskind moved its headquarters from Berlin to New York City to oversee the master planner for the World Trade Center redevelopment, which is being realized in Lower Manhattan today.

Great architecture is more than the sum of its parts: It is a language that communicates a story and invigorates the context and community for which it is built.

Sapphire, Berlin

This residential commission in Germany brought Daniel Libeskind back to Berlin for his first residential project in the city. The project, located on a busy corner in the Mitte neighborhood in central Berlin, presented a design challenge: how to carve out 73 desirable one- to four-bedroom apartments on a plot measuring a little less than half an acre?

In large part, Studio Daniel Libeskind succeeded by incorporating large angular windows and canted walls that bring in natural light and invoke a feeling of spaciousness. The design team also added a dramatic flourish: atop the roof and visible above the façade is the upward sweep of a double-height glass ceiling: inside, a penthouse with sloping glass walls and access to a roof patio overlooks the City of Berlin.

The three-dimensional, geometric-patterned stoneware tile adorning the façade is another design signature. Designed by Daniel Libeskind for CasalgrandePadana, the panels are technologically advanced to self-clean and aid in air purification.

With retail shops on the ground floor, underground parking, and a common outdoor area, this high-spirited, contemporary complex stands on land where the Wulffersche iron factory once operated, before being expropriated from its Jewish owners during World War II.

Contact Details: libeskind.com

(The article was originally produced in The Tiles of India magazine, March- April 2019 issue)

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