Rethinking architecture

What is wrong with an existing building when its future function no longer corresponds to the one for which it was originally built? That's right: absolutely nothing. The Berlin-based firm Kinzo recognises the potential of architectural spaces that may seem to have outlived their usefulness and reinvigorates them with fresh ideas, turning something old into something remarkable and new.

The Berlin architectural practice Kinzo is among the leading firms in the field of transforming existing buildings and designing future-ready working environments. Since its founding in 2005, Kinzo has pursued a holistic planning approach that brings together architecture, interior architecture, and the needs of users. A particular focus lies on working with existing buildings, adapting them to new requirements through repurposing, revitalisation, and resource-conscious further development. Rather than replacing buildings, Kinzo prioritises preserving existing structures and transforming them into sustainable places with a strong sense of identity. The practice sees existing buildings not as a constraint but as an opportunity for innovative, forward-looking architecture. This approach combines environmental responsibility with a high standard of design quality and has made building within the existing fabric a central component of a sustainable building culture.

That this is not merely a philosophy at Kinzo, but a lived working culture, is evident in many of its projects, which create something contemporary from what already exists without concealing the history of the respective building. Instead, they continue and enrich its story in compelling ways. One example is the development of new office spaces for an international consulting firm in the former Sony Center, now known as “Center am Potsdamer Platz”.

The refurbishment was based on the existing building structure, which was adapted to contemporary working practices through a reorganisation of the floor plans. The office space was made denser and supplemented with a variety of areas for focused individual work, meetings, informal interaction, and retreat. The glass architecture of Helmut Jahn’s existing building is complemented indoors by wood, textiles, and a colour scheme designed to respond to the changing qualities of daylight throughout the day. A biodynamic lighting system and Gravivent, a gravity-based cooling system integrated into acoustic timber walls, enhance the existing building with energy-efficient building technology. Plants from the previous office were incorporated into the new design concept and reused.

With the Bike Parking facility at Potsdamer Platz, Kinzo has transformed a former underground shopping arcade into a future-oriented mobility hub. The previously narrow, windowless passageway, lined with vacant retail units, was converted into a public bicycle parking facility offering more than 200 spaces for bicycles of all kinds, as well as e-scooters, Segways, and skateboards.

As part of the revitalisation of Potsdamer Platz, the project strengthens the connection between the underground and suburban rail stations and the Center, while responding to the growing shift towards sustainable mobility. The challenge lay in making a fully underground space intuitive to navigate, safe, and welcoming.

The design concept draws on the geometry of a bicycle tyre, using light, colour, and bespoke elements to create orientation and wayfinding. In doing so, it transforms the former passageway into a distinctive, high-quality urban space with a new purpose and identity.

At the listed Admiralspalast in Berlin, Kinzo transformed the former Art Nouveau thermal baths into the headquarters of a digital company. Rather than overriding the historic bathhouse structure, the architects used it as the foundation for the new floor plan. Exposed mosaics, Art Deco windows, steel girders, and cast-iron columns were carefully restored and integrated into the new working environment.

Former bathing areas were given new functions: the women's bath became a central gathering space featuring an oval seating landscape, while the relaxation room was transformed into a quiet working library with bespoke alcoves. In the eight-metre-high hall, a continuous gallery complements the historic architecture, creating additional workspaces and areas for retreat.

Themed rooms provide carefully placed focal points within the open-plan office landscape. The result is a workplace that preserves the identity of the historic building while responding to the demands of contemporary collaboration and hybrid ways of working.

For the DHZB Foundation, the listed Beletage was transformed into a contemporary working environment without overriding the building’s historic identity. Historic features such as the windows, timber flooring, and sections of the former archive shelving were preserved and combined with bespoke built-in elements, materials such as linoleum, and contemporary furnishings.

A consistent use of red structures the approximately 800-square-metre space and connects its various work areas. The lecture hall, which had remained unused for decades, was transformed into a flexible venue for events and workshops, equipped with an integrated LED wall. Open team spaces, a central kitchen, and dedicated retreat areas create a range of working environments for around 20 employees.

The project demonstrates how listed architecture can be adapted to meet present-day requirements through carefully considered interventions, without losing its historical character.

For the Berlin office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Kinzo transformed approximately 3,000 square metres of existing space within the Kollhoff Tower into a contemporary working environment. The existing office layout was reorganised to encourage shared use: former corner offices with the best views were converted into lounges, meeting rooms, and a cafeteria; corridors were widened; kitchenettes expanded; and an open staircase now connects the three floors.

Transparent glass partitions replace solid walls, creating new visual connections throughout the space, while the historic inner façade with its timber-framed windows was preserved and integrated into the new built-in elements. Prominent building cores were given a unified design featuring petrol-coloured vertical fins. Flexible single and double offices operating on a hotelling principle complement the overall concept.

The result is a transformation of a traditional law firm layout into an open, residentially inspired workplace with a stronger emphasis on interaction, collaboration, and shared use of space.

“Buildings do not lose their substance, they lose their function, and that is precisely where we come in,” says Chris Middleton, Co-Founder of Kinzo and one of the speakers at the Berlin edition of ARCHITECT@WORK 2026.

“The most exciting question is: what can a building that has lost its original purpose become tomorrow? With adaptive reuse concepts that revitalise existing structures, we give buildings a second life and create places that people are eager to return to. This is the most effective contribution architecture can make to the city of the future.”