CEMEX Contributes to Beautiful and Modern Residences in Berlin

• CEMEX is supplying ready-mix concrete for renowned architect Daniel Libeskind’s first residential project in Europe: Sapphire.
• CEMEX is also contributing to the construction of the Uferkrone residential complex, on the banks of the Spree River, supplying highly water-resistant specialty concretes.

Berlin residents looking for a new place to call home have more options thanks to incredible recent construction projects made possible with CEMEX materials.

Sapphire, a residential building designed by star architect Daniel Libeskind is taking shape in Berlin. CEMEX has been tasked with supplying approximately 5,000 cubic meters of ready-mix concretes for this bold, creative project with a geometric façade reminiscent of a gem.

The futuristic Sapphire is the first residential building in Europe designed by Studio Libeskind – a unique statement for modern living, with bold corners and sharp edges, but without 90° angles. The star architect says his design is based on a sapphire's roughness, boldness and resistant materiality, which he regards as characteristic for Berlin and its inhabitants. "For the contractors, the Sapphire with its extraordinary and at times fragmentary geometries is, of course, a formidable task. Due to the large number of small components, the concrete for the walls and ceilings is mostly installed by crane," explains Torsten Schiller, CEMEX Key Account Manager for Germany’s Berlin region.

The 10,000-square-meter, seven-story complex is located in Chausseestraße, just north of Berlin’s trendy Mitte district, and is scheduled for completion in spring 2016. It is the second Studio Libeskind project to which CEMEX has contributed in Germany, the first being the spectacular Kö-Bogen in the city of Duesseldorf, which was completed in 2013.

For a slightly more traditional option north of Berlin’s old city, CEMEX is providing a total of approximately 12,000 cubic meters of ready-mix concrete for the construction of the new Uferkrone residential complex. Built on the banks of the Spree River in the city’s greenest, most water-rich district, the project’s seven buildings promise an elegant and comfortable lifestyle.

Because the complex is located directly on the water, the outer walls and floor slabs of the basement required the use of highly water-resistant specialty concretes, for which CEMEX employed truck-mounted concrete pumps with 42- or 52-meter masts. The CEMEX team in Germany will also supply watertight concretes for the construction of the columns, beams, ceilings, and double wall elements of the higher stories of the buildings.

Mark-André Krüger, Managing Director of the client company responsible for construction, has successfully cooperated with CEMEX for many years. "CEMEX’s reliability and performance are the key reasons why we seek to cooperate with them. This is also the case with the Uferkrone project in Berlin, where special consideration must be given to the logistics of the construction sequences, in particular with respect to the different characteristics of concrete during construction in the wintertime," he explained.

At CEMEX we are fortunate to work with architects, builders, and people in our communities to bring both creative challenges and everyday needs to fruition, supplying the materials that help make homes possible. In an interview discussing his Sapphire project, Libeskind said that though he has designed some dozens of museums in his career, “the biggest challenge is to build just a place where people live. That to me is the height of architecture: everyday life."

CEMEX is a global building materials company that provides high quality products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50 countries. CEMEX has a rich history of improving the wellbeing of those it serves through innovative building solutions, efficiency advancements, and efforts to promote a sustainable future.