LEO & ALEX – Bornitzstrasse, Berlin | Sergei Tchoban

The two new office buildings LEO & ALEX were built on two undeveloped plots on Bornitzstrasse in the
Berlin district of Lichtenberg. The street as well as both buildings in the project are named after the doctor
and author Leopold Bornitz and his brother, the parish priest Alexander Bornitz. Between the two volumes
are the non-profit Lichtenberger Werkstaetten, which belong to the foundation rehabilitation centre Berlin-
East. To the west, the "LEO" office building is bordered by the listed former workshop building of the
Konsumgenossenschaft Berlin, built in 1926-27 by Otto Wettstein. To the rear is another listed building, the
industrial buildings Josef-Orlopp-Strasse 32/54, and to the east of "ALEX" is the office building "The Wave",
built in 1997.
The volume of the building "LEO" consists of three transverse, three-storey crossbars, which are connected
longitudinally by a seven-storey building section. Three independent staircases connect the different levels
and can be reached from the main entrance areas on the ground floor. Attached to each stairwell is a lift
system with two lifts. The rental areas are designed to be flexible, allowing both a cellular office layout and
an open-space variety. The "ALEX" building consists of a seven-storey block, from which three cross-blocks
of the same height lead off to the west.
Green courtyards open up between the detached parts of the building. All roofs are planned as extensive
green roofs. In the area of the staggered storeys, there are also roof terraces as elevated constructions,
which, however, are not accessible without steps in relation to the utilization unit. In total, the two buildings
have a gross floor area of approx. 50,000 m².
The exterior façade of building "LEO" is structured by a grey-beige mottled brick façade. The columns
between the window bands were planned as a relief sheet metal cladding. On the ground floor, closed
parapet elements were installed as privacy screens in front of the floor-to-ceiling window elements, as well as external sun protection. The striking façade of the "ALEX" building is made of red brick. Architecturally, it
ties in with the historic neighboring buildings and is a reference to the industrial location of Lichtenberg in
terms of cubature, colour and materiality. The storeys are divided by horizontal window bands, which are
interrupted in places and thus give the façade a varied appearance. The two-storey entrance areas of the
two buildings are accentuated by a mullion-and-transom façade with a canopy and provide access to the
office buildings through one revolving door each, flanked by normal doors.
The two underground garages of "LEO & ALEX" provide a total of 291 underground parking spaces for cars,
10 to 50 of which can be used as e-mobility spaces. The lift cores connect the underground car park directly
with the seven office floors. In addition, another 47 parking spaces are available in the outdoor facilities,
which are also designed for electric mobility