Highly commended: Sustainable renovation of the year 2024. MVRDV has designed Haus 1 - Atelier Gardens in Berlin, Germany.

HAUS 1 transforms a tired office building into a bold new entrance for Atelier Gardens in Berlin.

It is the latest milestone in the site's evolution from a historic film studio to an award-winning impact and media campus.

Once plain grey, the building is now a sunshine yellow, complete with a new living roof and a sustainable timber rooftop pavilion and terrace, accessible via a striking, zig-zagging external staircase.

Four floors of flexible workspace are above the new ground-floor cafe, which also serves as the campus reception and informal co-working space.

This creates a central hub for visitors to the campus and its progressive community.

Judges comments: "Haus 1 proves that retrofits can be fun, colourful and nearly indistinguishable from new builds, endearing them to people who might never otherwise consider a refurb."

Studio: MVRDV
Project: Haus 1 - Atelier Gardens
Credits: Fabrix, HS-Architekten, Harris Bugg Studio, Drees & Sommer, Buro Happold, HATI, Arup, KPM3, Brandschutz Plus, Deltalight, Zimmerei & Dachdeckerei Quappe, Metallbau Weinmann and MKP