BIKINI BERLIN is one of the few still preserved contemporary witnesses of Berlin’s turbulent history during the post-war period of the 1950s. The “Zentrum am Zoo” ensemble, which was completed in 1957 by architects Paul Schwebes and Hans Schoszberger, is a symbol of Berlin City-West’s cityscape.
The listed group of buildings includes the Bikinihaus opposite the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, the Große Hochhaus (large high-rise building) on Hardenbergplatz, the Kino Zoo Palast cinema, the smaller high-rise known as the “Kleines Hochhaus” with the 25hours hotel and a car park. The basic concept of BIKINI BERLIN is a unique combination of shopping, working, cinema, recreation, urban oasis and hotel.
The centrepiece of the group of buildings is the Bikinihaus with a total length of 200 metres. The lower three floors of the Bikinihaus are home to retail and gastronomy offers. The third to sixth upper floors house exclusive office spaces. The highlight of the BIKINI BERLIN building complex is the 7000 m² freely accessible green rooftop terrace, on a two-storey new build behind the Bikinihaus, facing the Zoological Garden, Germany’s oldest and best known zoo. Below this is a large marketplace, the BIKINI BERLIN POOL. The focus here is a panoramic window with spectacular views of the monkey enclosure in the Zoological Garden.
The name BIKINI BERLIN comes from the name Bikinihaus, which is how local Berliners affectionately christened the building in the 1950s. An open-sided storey framed by columns on the second floor once separated the building into one upper and one lower area. For the Berlin locals, the two-tier architecture, which today is fully glazed, reminded them of the daring new swimwear fashion of that time, the bikini.
In 2002 the Munich-based company Bayerische Hausbau purchased the historic Zoobogen building ensemble. The sensitive revitalisation of the complex was carried out from the end of 2010 until the end of 2013.
