Project

René Benko - Berlin penthaus

Client

SIGNA Real Estate Management Germany GmbH

Services

Detailed Design, Tender Documents, Site Supervision

A world-class luxury suite above Berlin

Berlin Penthouse for René Benko

A stage for craftsmanship — and a budget that let it sing. On the 33rd floor of Berlin’s ‘Upper West’ tower we were allowed to live every architect’s dream. Investor René Benko commissioned OOW to realise a penthouse of the most rarefied kind. Here are glimpses of a project that rarely meets its equal.

‘Placing a five-tonne marble bar on the top floor of a high-rise is a daring idea.’

Sebastian Blancke, CEO

It is said that after visiting the penthouse, an adviser cautioned René Benko against receiving guests there: the ostentation might unsettle partners and lenders — advice that reads, in light of where he finds himself today, as quietly prescient.

The now-embattled real-estate investor tended towards extremes, and his private penthouse was conceived with virtually no budgetary ceiling — a luxury suite without compromise. That may have worried financiers; for an architectural studio like OOW it opened doors: precision and exclusivity set new benchmarks here, revealing what becomes possible when Europe’s finest trades, the most exacting materials and superb technical craftsmanship converge.

Across 1,000 square metres only the most refined materials and methods were used: floating leather wall panels; curved glass doors; a five-tonne marble bar; washbasins and bathtubs milled from solid marble blocks — all installed on the 33rd floor, in the heart of Berlin, with views over the Ku’damm. The nine-metre dining table — beneath a mirrored ceiling — is built like a boat: a hull of American walnut with a Calacatta-marble top. White terrazzo with brass intarsia alternates with bronzed brass. And the iconic shell bed in American walnut within the master suite is among the city’s most spectacular places to sleep. The mattress is so heavy that changing the linen is, frankly, a team sport.

This relentless standard of perfection runs through every space and every view across the capital — from generous offices and conference rooms to gym and spa; from three bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms to the main kitchen and the back-up kitchen; and, of course, the lobby.

‘The high art of joining: leather wall panelling meets brass, terrazzo and marble — and almost everything is curved. Every trade must pull together. The result is execution of the highest order.’

Sebastian Blancke, CEO

OOW was responsible for execution planning, tendering & award, and site management (LPH 5–9). Three working methods — hallmarks of OOW — proved decisive on this extraordinary commission.

From model to making — without surprises

We modelled the entire storey in 3D down to minute details — eliminating surprises on site. Two examples show why this approach saves resources and raises quality. First, with the curved, leather-clad walls, we could calculate precise leather quantities and optimise the joint pattern to the maximum hide size — cows, after all, only grow so large. Second, the model mapped exactly how ceiling and floor joints would meet; from that we planned the installation so everything aligned perfectly on site, 33 floors up.

A major benefit for the client: before construction, they could explore the rooms in virtual reality — feeling light, proportions and furnishings at full scale. This makes outcomes predictable, planning optimal and decisions secure. Even the hundreds of lobby light points were set from OOW’s digital templates.

Engineering, hidden in plain sight
Building services (TGA) is rarely a designer’s darling — duct dampers, fire shutters, sprinklers, cable schedules. We treat it differently. Rigorous planning pays off. In the Benko penthouse, systems were elevated to the highest technical standard while remaining invisible to preserve the design. Like opening the bonnet of a great engine: everything is ordered and exact. For us, the quality of a building’s TGA is a litmus test of how well the architecture is truly made. And when Kardorff’s hundreds of luminaires demanded an extraordinary volume of cabling, HHP’s fire-safety concept adapted accordingly — proof that immaculate engineering and code compliance can co-author beauty.

Benko’s property team were so satisfied that the next brief followed immediately: a €65-million project planned for Hamburg’s Gänsemarkt.

The guild behind the glamour

We assembled Europe’s best trades to bring out the very best in every piece and material. The terrazzo hails from Italy; the natural stone was processed near Lake Constance; the joinery comes from Brixen in South Tyrol. Together with design icon Hadi Teherani and interior specialist Sebastian Zenker we created a statement in luxury, craft and architectural innovation. Benko’s property team were so satisfied that the next brief followed immediately: a €65-million project planned for Hamburg’s Gänsemarkt.

Design – Hadi Tehrani

The penthouse design is by the renowned practice of Büro Hadi Tehrani.

Interior – Sebastian Zenker

With exquisite attention to detail, Sebastian Zenker’s team curated the rooms’ furnishings and lighting.

Building Services - Teuber + Viel

Once the ceiling is closed, no one sees it — but threading ductwork through tight, curved corridors is a geometric masterpiece by Teuber + Viel.

Acoustics — Wölfel

BASWA acoustic ceilings formed as elliptical domes — developed together with Wölfel.

Light Design - KARDORFF

Hundreds of individual luminaires in the lobby were planned by KARDORFF and placed into the gypsum-board forms according to our 3D layout. The sheer volume of cabling required an exception to HHP’s fire-safety concept!

Dry Lining - APLEONA

Nothing about this project was ‘standard’ — not even the drywalling. With setting-out templates crafted by Barth, Apleona placed every gypsum wall exactly where it needed to be, down to the millimetre. They delivered the lot: suspended ceilings, sculpted 3D plasterboard elements, site logistics, cleaning and disposal; then the finishing touches — painting, glass partitions, and more besides. Quite simply, without Apleona this scheme would not exist. They shouldered the work others sidestepped, from drywalling and floor layers to paint and the final builders’ clean.

Screed / Terrazzo — Freese Fussbodentechnik

White terrazzo with 20-millimetre brass inlays, impeccably laid by Freese Fussbodentechnik. The floor had to be installed very early in the sequence and then painstakingly protected.

Natural Stone & Terrazzo Finishing — Musch Fliesen und Natursteine

Musch Fliesen und Natursteine's team are rightly proud of the five-tonne marble bar.

Joinery / Fit-Out — barth

The shell bed may be the obvious showpiece, but barth's South Tyrolean specialists produced almost all visible wall linings, wardrobes and kitchens — execution derived from our 3D model and anchored in flawless shop drawings.