The firm MVRDV – in collaboration with Hirschmüller Schindele Architekten – has transformed a 1997 Berlin office block into an entrance marker for the Atelier Gardens mixed campus, the site of a historic film studio built in the 1920s. The now bright yellow building is a symbol of the campus’s revamp, carried out in accordance with MVRDV’s masterplan, with existing structures taken advantage of instead of demolished.

With four levels of flexible spaces for work and meetings, the building features an exterior zigzagging staircase leading to the roof for views of Tempelhof Airport. The idea was to reuse most of the original elements, with any new materials having to be durable or recyclable and with low environment footprints.