The new station housing the police and fire departments for the government district of Berlin is an extension to a now free-standing 19th-century structure, located on the edge of a former goods yard close to the River Spree. To preserve the representative historical facade, the police station was located on the north side of the complex. As the building is set back considerably from the main road and lies approximately 6 meters below street level, a new footbridge brings the visitor to the police station on the level of the bel étage.

The new volume hugs the old building, articulated around the existing corridor, and rises to provide cover for the parking of various vehicles and space for maintenance of the large fire engines. The facade of the extension comprises large-scale glass shingles, celebrating the formal and material contrast between the remains of a typical Berlin building from the 1890s and its contemporary addition. The families of reds and greens used in the facade play not only with the heraldic colors of Germany’s emergency services, but also with the chromatic contrast between the existing brick structure and the surrounding groups of mature trees...[+][+]