LESSON: DRAMA ACADEMY IN BERLIN

Being a thespian requires a good helping of exhibitionism. It only makes sense that the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts has given this discipline a suitable space. Institutionalised improvisation and the unfinished atmosphere became themes of an extraordinary architectural lesson.

Recipient of the National Prize of the German Democratic Republic, Ernst Busch also lent his name to the public drama academy, an elite school in socialist stage culture. For the now German Federal “Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts”, O&O Baukunst has designed a new, central location in Berlin city centre using an old building that once served as a workshop for the opera. The draft’s objective was clear. The new construction should make obvious “how theatres operate” – a natural educational goal for prospective actors, directors, script editors and puppeteers. But above all, the neighbourhood gets to see “how theatre works”. Located in Berlin’s Scheunenviertel (“Barn Quarter”), the academy is within a Berlin block, surrounded by uninspired new residential blocks of the rich and newcomers. O&O Baukunst complemented the rather plain old building from the 1950s with a stage tower – sending a clear signal to the locals – and a café tucked into the side.

Stage construction made permanent

Nothing here really seems finished – this is both intentional and the result of a limited budget. The technical additions and superstructures of the stage tower are covered scantily and homogenised by a crude wooden lattice. Anyone who looks inside the block from their balconies or access spaces from the street will see that nothing takes place here that last longer than a season. The architecture is a stage construction made permanent with an extended service life. Indoors, this ostentatious look behind the scenes continues. From the foyer, a central axis leads through the building, whose surfaces were finished up to reaching height at best. The concrete of the old building under the torn-down ceiling panelling remains visible; the new concrete seems as though it is just escaping the formwork. Any crumbling brickwork remains downright natural. The theme: Show what you’ve got, or what you are proud not to have.

Figure: The stage tower stands out visually with its “wooden lattice” facade.

“Storytelling”

The central axis for access in the ground floor of the old opera workshop gives students and visitors a look at the puppet theatre inventory and the theatrical props through panes of glass the size of shop windows. On the inside, the stage tower is accented with the same wooden lattice that serves as a statement on the outside. The temporary look of this architecture, not bound by zeitgeist, comes across as modest in an appropriate way. And in the spots risking becoming too pretentious, the unfinished touches become the method of design.

The untreated plywood boards of the stairs surely were also available without tattered edges. And whether the spackle of the gypsum board in the central axis wasn’t coated with dispersion paint for time reasons (at least not yet) or whether this is also considered a luxury of the unfinished is for you to decide. In classic shop fitting, this method of scenery construction is called

storytelling. The structure tells customers a generally fictitious story. This is all too logical at a drama school. After all, the theatre’s beauty should be reflected in the foyer, the auditorium and on the stage. But it’s nobody’s concern what it looks like behind the stage, except for the actors performing in the evening.

Figure: Many of the materials used are untreated, giving them a temporary feeling.

Figure: Open: The different functional areas are separated both spatially and visually.

Figure: Drama school puppet storage and studio: Artistic craftwork plays a major role in film and theatre.

Schörghuber expertise:

Versatile door programme

The Schörghuber range of doors installed at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts is just as diverse as the dramatic arts themselves. Over 170 doors were supplied in total – some of which are composite timber doors and wet room doors. Provided with a white HPL laminate, they primarily have a standard door leaf thickness of 42 or 50 millimetres. Schörghuber also supplied different variants of fire- and acoustic-rated doors. These have door leaf thicknesses of 50 or 70 millimetres and are varnished with a larch surface finish. Some of them feature a glazing cut-out with flush-fitting glazing bead. In the first and second storey, T30 fire-rated doors with concealed hinges were fitted in combination with a 4-metre-high and 4.5-metre-wide glazing. The fixed glazings in the same dimensions without door also came from Schörghuber. The tailor shop features a sliding door, also provided with a white HPL surface, proving to be a viable alternative to the revolving doors in the workflow.

Figure: In terms of texture and colour, the larch wood forms a clear contrast to the raw walls as well as the anthracite-coloured wall cladding.

Figure: Some of the Schörghuber doors feature a white HPL surface, like the sliding door in the tailor shop.

Location: Zinnowitzer Straße 11, 10115 Berlin, Germany

Schörghuber products: T30 fire-rated doors with acoustic insulation Rw,P = 32 dB, 37 or 42 dB, single- and double-leaf acoustic-rated doors Rw,P = 32 dB, 37, 42 and 48 dB, T90 fire-rated doors with acoustic insulation Rw,P = 32 dB, acoustic-rated doors Rw,P = 42 dB with glazing cut-out, T30 single- and double-leaf fire-rated doors, in some cases with glazing cut-out in combination with F30 fixed glazings, F30 fixed glazings, composite timber sliding doors, wet room sliding doors, solid timber frames, timber infill frames

Hörmann products: Sheet steel doors STS T30, STS T90, STS MZ, steel corner frames, 2-part steel profile frames with bracket clamp fastening for retrofitting

Floor plan of the ground floor

Cross-section

HÖRMANN EXPERTISE:

STS DOORS

With STS sheet steel doors, O&O Baukunst contrasts the raw charm of the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts. Sandro Müller explains the advantages of this product.

What’s the difference between STS and STU doors?

Both STS and STU doors are premium sheet steel doors. The difference: STS doors are flush-closing doors. This means the door leaf has a straight edge without a rebate – the door leaf is not on but in the frame. By contrast, STU doors with a thick rebate are suitable as break-in-resistant doors.

What design value do STS doors offer?

As the door leaves of the STS doors do not have a rebate, they can be fit flush with the frame face, or even with the wall if combined with a block frame. Depending on the colour scheme of the door and frame, this can achieve a very harmonious overall appearance – something that architects often highly value. With concealed hinges, a door closer on the inside and the colour matching the wall, these doors are barely noticeable at all.

What are the main applications for STS doors?

STS doors are primarily used in applications requiring the advantages of a sheet steel door, where the design aspect also plays an important role. While standard and multi-function doors are used in ancillary rooms, STS doors are often used in more public and representative spaces of the building.

What frames can be used? Why is that?

Ultimately, there are no restrictions. STS doors are fitted with DryTec frames. They can be installed without any mortar. After fitting, the gap between the wall and frame has to be sealed, and that’s it. This makes them the ideal frame for existing constructions. They are available as block, corner, profile and various other special frame versions. Using block frames, the doors can be fitted flush with the wall. The other frames have a slightly smaller clear passage width, but extend about 13 millimetres over the wall surface.

Figure: Thanks to the clean surfaces of the building, STS doors stand out as design elements.

What functions can these doors provide?

Generally, STS doors can meet all requirements, as is the case with multi-function doors. Architects often turn to concealed hinges to achieve a maximum harmony of the wall and door.

What has to be considered during fitting?

The doors and frames are quick and easy to handle. You just have to ensure a uniform gap between the door and frame all-round to ensure a harmonious overall appearance.

Figure: Horizontal view of STS door with profile frame.

Figure left: Glazing cut-outs are also possible in STS doors.

Figure right: Details of a profile frame and the STS door leaf.