Beside the Brandenburg Gate at Pariser Platz, DZ Bank is a mixed-use building designed by Frank Gehry and completed in 2000. Its pale limestone exterior fits the square, but Gehry’s most striking work is inside: a glass-roofed atrium and a sculptural, curved structure known as the Plenum. The building also contains bank offices, a conference hall and apartments. It is a working bank, so public access to the interior is not assured; architecture fans can still examine the exterior while passing through the square.
A mixed-use building on Pariser Platz
Completed in 2000, DZ Bank combines offices, apartments and a conference hall. The bank entrance faces Pariser Platz, beside the Brandenburg Gate. The building’s stone exterior was designed to sit comfortably alongside the square’s surrounding architecture.
The restrained street-facing facade gives little indication of the interior’s more expressive design. A nickname used locally, “Whale at the Brandenburg Gate,” refers to the building’s distinctive Gehry design.
Access to the interior
The central atrium has a glass roof and a curved sculptural form called the Plenum. Its conference hall sits within this large interior space. Access is uncertain because the building operates as a bank, and visitors may only be admitted to the reception area, or may not be allowed inside.
Approach from Pariser Platz if you want to ask about entering. The building is close enough to the Brandenburg Gate to inspect from outside if the lobby is closed to visitors.
Häufige Fragen
Can the public go inside DZ Bank?
Public access is not assured because it is a working bank. You can ask at reception whether the lobby is open to visitors.
Where is the entrance to DZ Bank?
The bank entrance is on the Pariser Platz side, beside the Brandenburg Gate. The apartment side is a different entrance.
What is worth seeing inside DZ Bank?
The atrium has a glass roof and a sculptural curved structure called the Plenum, with the conference hall in the central space.
