Sauerbruch Hutton Anchors a Mixed-Use Plot with a Glinting Jewel Box

In 2014, Berlin-based Sauerbruch Hutton won a competition to reenvision the site of the Postscheckamt—a 1970s commercial tower with a sprawling single-story plinth—in the city’s Kreuzberg neighborhood as a dense mixed-use residential quarter. A few market-driven revisions (and passings of client hands) later, the enclave now partially goes by Die Macherei, or “the makery.” It is the third such community in Germany to operate under the moniker, providing office and coworking spaces as well as retail and gastronomic offerings, with plenty of housing next door.

As part of the master plan, the firm situated six mid-rise apartment towers deep within the 7.5-acre site, but, fronting Hallesches Ufer (a road that runs along the Landwehr Canal), it placed three signature office buildings. From east to west, they are: M40, a champagne-colored mass-timber structure designed by KEC Architekten; M50, the new iteration of the 23-story-tall Postscheckamt, which is undergoing a gut renovation and full reclad by Eike Becker; and M60—undoubtedly the gem in the ensemble—an eight-story structure designed by Sauerbruch Hutton.