The Architecture of the City

A cube with a shimmering, reflective façade in Berlin symbolizes the harmony of modern architecture and trailblazing residential energy concepts.

The building is located in the immediate vicinity of the famed Kurfürstendamm and was selected from 16 entries as the prize-winner for the "Forschungsinitiative Zukunft Bau" competition organized by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Construction and Urban Planning. The building's special feature is that it generates more energy in the course of a year than it consumes. It produces the energy needed to source the air conditioning, heating and hot water, to operate electrical appliances (household appliances, small devices, multimedia, etc.) and power up electric cars.

"Sustainable houses must not have that efficiency look, but instead need to be breathtakingly beautiful and powerful in appearance," suggests Werner Sobek, whose office together with Stuttgart University won the competition to design the Effizienzhaus-Plus. The jury was won over by the concept of an energy-efficient dwelling along with electromobility, that harmonizes user needs, the house and the vehicles perfectly.