Projects / 8/8/2025

“Work. Eat. Meet”, urban regeneration in the heart of Berlin

The DSTRCT.Berlin complex offers sustainable and healthy working environments where wooden and resilient floors were installed with Mapei products

In the heart of Berlin, the DSTRCT.Berlin project transformed a former slaughterhouse into a modern and sustainable complex. Flexible offices, green spaces, dining and fitness areas come together in an environment that promotes work, social interaction, and well-being. The redevelopment project, that made use of certified materials and low-emission solutions, has achieved DGNB Gold and WELL Gold certifications. Mapei products played a key role ensuring sustainability and performance.

In Berlin, just a few minutes from Alexander Platz, stands DSTRCT.Berlin, a complex that simultaneously embodies 150 years of history and the future of workspaces. In what was once a slaughterhouse, a brick building to which a new wing with glass façades has been added, there are spacious and bright offices with a creative design, areas dedicated to dining and fitness and, indoors and outdoors, spaces dedicated to exhibitions, meetings and events, as well as green courtyards.

The transformation is the result of a renovation that has created healthy, comfortable and well-integrated working and entertainment environments. In addition to carrying out their work activities, Berlin's citizens can here taste, entertain and meet as indicated by the project's slogan “Work. Eat. Meet”.

Sustainability is another of the principles that inspired the redevelopment project and favoured the extensive use of natural, recycled, certified and/or low environmental impact materials. It is therefore no coincidence that the DSTRCT.Berlin complex has been awarded Gold certification according to the parameters of both the DGNB, the German Sustainable Building Council, and the WELL Building Standard, an international certification system that assesses the level of healthiness, wellbeing and comfort of buildings, taking into account parameters such as air and water quality, lighting, thermal and acoustic comfort, and the use of safe, non-toxic materials.

Within DSTRCT.Berlin wooden floors were installed with Mapei solutions.

Workspaces that foster productivity and motivation

The centrepiece of the DSTRCT.Berlin is the new six-storey building surrounded by glass façades, which includes flexible workspaces, a spacious entrance area, a rooftop terrace, showers, changing rooms and an underground bicycle parking area. The office spaces have high ceilings, generous square footage and a design that favours extensive use of natural light and the use of materials that are as durable, resistant and sustainable as possible, such as wood and textile floor coverings and the Mapei products used for their installation.

For example, multi-layer parquet flooring was chosen for some rooms; in other areas, textile coverings made from recycled yarns were preferred.

In both cases, certified and sustainable Mapei installation systems were chosen for the preparation of the substrates and for bonding them on the floors.

Low-emission materials for substrate preparation

Prior to installing the textile and wooden coverings, the flooring substrates were treated with Eco Prim T Plus, a universal acrylic primer that acts as a dust sealer and adhesion promoter for the next layer of levelling compounds. It is a product with very low emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and therefore certified Emicode EC1^Plus by GEV, the German Association for the control of VOC emissions from building materials. In addition, Eco Prim T Plus has the Blauer Engel label that, on the German market, identifies those products that are characterised by a reduced environmental impact.

The levelling of the surfaces was ensured by the application of Planitex Pro** and Planitex Fast**, two fast-drying self-levelling products manufactured and distributed on the German market by Mapei GmbH, which also have very low VOC emissions (certified Emicode EC1Plus) and carry the Blauer Engel label.

Ultrabond Eco Tack TX+ was chosen for the installation of textile floor coverings in the offices of the newly redeveloped DSTRCT.Berlin

Sustainable and safe adhesives for textile, LVT and wooden floors

Ultrabond Eco Tack TX+, a tackifier specifically developed for bonding carpet tiles and loose-lay LVT, was chosen for the installation of textile floor coverings in the DSTRCT.Berlin offices. In addition to ensuring the creation of a permanently sticky film, this product guarantees fast drying and easy removal or replacement of individual tiles, should they be damaged or worn.

The multi-layer wooden floors were instead bonded with Ultrabond Eco S948 1K, a one-component adhesive based on silylated polymers, free of water, solvents, amines and epoxy resins, which ensured an excellent ridge holding and easy application.

In some areas of the building, the LVT flooring was bonded with Ultrabond Eco V4SP, a universal acrylic adhesive in water dispersion, which is characterised by an extended open time and good initial tack and very high peel strength. Particularly suitable for areas subject to chair castors, this product is suitable for all types of resilient and textile floor coverings that can be quickly laid indoors, both on floors and walls.

Different adhesives for different materials and areas, but with the same reduced environmental impact: Ultrabond Eco Tack TX+, Ultrabond Eco S948 1K and Ultrabond Eco V4SP are all Emicode EC1^Plus certified by GEV because they have very low emissions of VOC and carry the Blauer Engel mark.