HANS

KOLLHOFF

DONE BY
ELIZABETH SANKALPANA
ABOUT
• Hans Kollhoff (born 18 September 1946 in Bad
Lobenstein, Thuringia) is a German architect and professor.
• He is a representative of Postmodern and New Classical
Architecture, as well as a protagonist of New Urbanism.
CAREER
• Kollhoff began his architecture studies at the University of
Karlsruhe in 1968.
• In 1974 Kollhoff studied at the Vienna University of
Technology, and worked for one year at the studio of Hans
Hollein.
• Kollhoff opened his own studio in Berlin in 1978, and since
1984 has run the studio in partnership with Helga
Timmermann.
STYLE
• Hans Kollhoff's architecture is characterised by a
classical building-style and the use of solid, traditional
materials, such as stone and brick, worked according to
traditional methods.
• During his career, Kollhoff has developed in the
direction of a more and more traditional form, often
using classical motifs.
• For this reason he is sometimes criticized for creating
an outdated "retro-architecture", that loses itself in a
nostalgic imitation of traditional formalism.
• However Kollhoff's work, with its attention to detail
also within the interior space, may be read as a
continuation of the work of early twentieth century
architects.
PROJECTS
1. The Beisheim center on Potsdamer Platz, Berlin
2. Kollhoff tower @ Potsdamer Platz, Berlin
3. Dominium, Cologne
4. Colonel building in Maastricht
5. Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Justice
6. Villa D
7. Botersloot housing and commercial project
The Beisheim center on Potsdamer
Platz, Berlin

Dominium, Cologne

Colonel building in
Maastricht
 Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Justice
Administrative building, the Hague
Branch: Prof. Hans Kollhoff Generalplanungs
GmbH
Project Manager: Elmar Koers
Client: Rijksgebouwendienst / Projectbureau
Jubi
Project Address: Turfmarkt
The Hague
Netherlands

Timerange: 2008 - 2012

Work Phases: All
Construction Sum: 330 Mio. €
FAR: 130.000 qm (ober- und unterirdisch)
• The project originated from an international competition held in
2002.
The pair of towers rise up from a block that opens towards the
pedestrian street called Turfmarkt with a cour d’honneur cum gar
den.
• With their 36 floors standing 150 metres tall, the ministries’ tow
ers stand out in the urban context with pilaster-facades of brick
(for the Ministry of the Interior) and granite (for the Ministry of
Justice).
• CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE AND MATERIALS USED
• The grey-green granite cladding of the base, made up of four-cen
timetre-thick sandblasted slabs, is fixed to the bearing wall via con
ventional stainless steel anchors with thermal insulation in be
tween.
• At the corners of the ground floor, thicker slabs with an L-shaped
section have been used supported by steel consoles.
This effectively emphasises the expression of stability, which is also
the intention of the bush hammered plinth.
• The rather flat facade of the first two floors overlooks the street
with wide openings and connects to the ground with a curved pro
file, while terminating in a fine string course.
• The display windows of the shop fronts are framed with
brass-coloured aluminium profiles.
• The facade of the second to the fourth floors culminates in a high
main cornice, which accentuates the building’s granite base and
the common functions of the ministries.
• Here, the same box windows that are positioned between the
pillars in the towers above are used as separate openings.
• The double windows allow for natural hand-adjustable ventila
tion throughout the building.
• Made with prefab the towers’ facades are articulated with pi
lasters that, clad in the same polished green granite of the base,
break past the top edge of the wall and terminate in a crown.
• The joints between the elements disappear behind the overlap
ping panels, becoming invisible when viewed head-on.
GARDEN DETAILS
• Cut into the block, the steeply angled atrium has a
main glazed front that gives onto the garden with
revolving doors and brass-coloured aluminium pro
files.
• The garden is enclosed by a granite bench that pro
trudes from the building’s plinth.
• This bench supports a fence made of ornamentally
treated square posts and curved rectangular steel
profiles coated with a bright anthracite colour.
• The tips are lacquered in gold.
 EXTERIOR PLAN

CONCEPTUAL SKETCH
VILLA D
• The villa replaces a three-storey flat-roofed building from the 1960s which
sat quite awkwardly in the panorama of Lamontstrasse.
• The extremely narrow parcel of land has an east elevation of
two-and-a-half metres, which is incorporated into the building.
The new building makes reference in both its features and its volume to
the protected architectural ensemble.
• The building provides high-quality residential space over several storeys
with a self-contained flat.
• The monolithic façade derives its individuality from the interplay of natu
ral stone and a pattern of plaster sections.
• White-painted wooden windows, green-painted wooden shutters and a
plaster frieze define the physiognomy of the building.
• The roof is finished in classic beaver tail tiles and takes up the theme of
the splendid neighbouring houses with their opulent hipped roofs and
avant-corps gable designs.
• It ends in a balcony-style roof terrace.
• As most of the houses in this area, the villa has a front garden at
street level and a leisure garden behind the house, under which is
the garage.
• The path up to the entrance to the building leads along a trellis in
to which the waste containers and bicycle stands are integrated.
• The boundary to the street is marked by rendered posts with cast
iron gates and a wooden slatted fence.
• The extensive but diseased stock of trees was replaced by valu
able new plantations.

As is fitting in a historic district of the city with its own distinctive

character, the house reins in its newness and appears to have al
ways been here.
PLAN
KOLLHOFF TOWER

• The Kollhoff-Tower stands on the northern edge of the Potsdamer

Platz district.
• The building bears the name of Berlin architect Hans Kollhoff, a
member of the international team of architects, headed by Renzo
Piano, who designed the 19 buildings for the new Potsdamer
Platz district.

Height (architectural) 101.00 m

• Floors (above ground) 25
• Construction start 1994
• Construction end 1999
• After four years of construction, the Kollhoff-Tower was completed
in 1999.
• Soaring 25 storeys high, the building creates a dynamic interaction
between height and volume as its step-like façade tapers to a
slender peak.
• The roofs of the broad lower wings of the building are covered
with grass.
The ground floor was designed as a colonnade and houses a
number of restaurants and shops.
• The upper floors are used for office space.
• The crowning glory of the tower is the PANORAMAPUNKT on the
24th and 25th floors, offering visitors an open-air viewing
platform, an exhibition of the history of the area and a café.
The tower is clad in dark peat-fired brinks, which stand out clearly
from the rest of the buildings.
• Together, the three buildings form a striking architectural
ensemble at Potsdamer Platz.
With its granite walls and terrazzo floors, the foyer resonates with
beauty and elegance.
CONCEPTUAL SKETCH
PLAN
Housing and Commercial Building |
Rotterdam
Branch: Prof. Hans Kollhoff Generalplanungs
GmbH
Project Manager: Andreas Schmitz-Engels
Client: OVG Projektontwikkeling
Project Address: Binnenrotte
Rotterdam
Netherlands

Timerange: 1998-2009
Work Phases: All
Construction Sum: ca. 19 Mio. €
FAR: 17.000 qm (ober- und unterirdisch)
ABOUT THE BUILDING
• Facing the Laurens Church, this residential tower was built as
part of a comprehensive restructuring of the adjacent
blocks.
• Originally, there was a high-rise office block here with a
façade of pre-fabricated concrete blocks on an octagonal
base.
• Initial blueprints envisaged reutilisation with a new façade,
until it was established that demolition was unavoidable.
• In order to avoid the loss of time an amendment to the de
velopment plan would entail, the octagonal outline plan had
to be used for the ground floor, although the upper floors
are considerably cantilevered and further project into the
public space with bay windows in order to satisfy the exact
ing standards of high-class residences in an exposed location.
•
The bluestone base aims for monolithic unity in order to ensure
credible tectonic mastery of the widely cantilevered corners,
whereby the precarious balance is further heightened by a fascia
under the cantilever.
•
Four brick towers set at each corner culminating in gables with
arched windows underline the slim lines of this building which,
due to its limited height, might otherwise appear a little portly.
• The design of the façade also aims at verticality, whereby the
beams on the top floor are exposed and form loggias to show off
the extensive views over the city.
Nearby it has been possible to preserve two very attractive brick
buildings from the 1950s, one had to cede to another new building
designed by Christian Rapp.
• The decorative sculptural elements, columns with capitals, arched
window reveals etc were able to be saved and form the new
façade of the garage situated opposite our entrance.
PLAN