Potsdamer Platz Arkaden is a major shopping centre located in Berlin, Germany. It was renovated to add new retail and restaurant options and renamed The Playce, a mix between the idea of ‘place’ and the interactive aspect of ‘play’.
The reconstruction project was implemented by Brookfield Properties, the asset manager of Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz Square and ECE, the shopping centre’s operator. Construction for the renovation began in January 2020 and was completed in September 2022.
Recommended White Papers
The project transformed the mall into a lively and modern urban place to provide visitors with an enhanced shopping experience.
The Playce location
The Playce is a part of the Potsdamer Platz quarter, which is located near the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin.
The shopping mall is situated close to the Potsdamer Platz train station and is well-connected by bus and subway services including the Berlin-Brandenburg public transport system.
The Playce basement has direct access to the S-Bahn station for the shoppers at the centre.
Potsdamer Platz Arkaden renovation details
The Potsdamer Platz Arkaden or The Playce is a three-level, 43,000m2 retail centre. The renovation scheme aimed to create a connection to the project site’s history and reposition the mall as a distinctive shopping and leisure centre with an international high street format.
The renovation created a vibrant shopping destination with a mix of retail, dining and entertainment spaces. The renovation work on the shopping mall included the repositioning of arcades and the addition of international flagship stores in the areas of science and beauty, technology, mobility and leisure, sport and entertainment and gastronomy.
The existing shopping street on the upper floor was removed and replaced with two-storey facades. The redesigned arcades welcome new culinary options, including a community market, as well as global restaurant concepts and local providers on two levels spanning approximately 5,500m².
The centre also includes parking for 4,000 cars on three basement levels.
Retail offerings and service stores at the mall
Retail stores at the mall include Butlers, dm drug store, Dr. Eckert Kiosk, Duo Flagship store and Deko Behrendt, Gamestate, K-Kiosk, KRASS Optik, Lovisa Jewellery, McPaper, NBA store, O’Donnell Moonshine, P&C Conscious Fashion Store, Pepco, REWE and Shine Beauty.
The redesigned retail precinct also includes Sweet Capital, TEDi, TK Maxx, Wokerbot Gisela, Zen Diamond and a multi-storey Barbie Bakeshop by toy manufacturer Mattel and Peek & Cloppenburg store.
The mall also features the retail Garage, a joint project between Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Handel, the Handelsverband Deutschland e.V. and the EHI Retail Institute, a scientific institute of the retail industry. It provides retailers with details on making the shopping experience more attractive using digital technologies.
Dining and entertainment avenues
The shopping facility includes a new anchor tenant, Mercato Metropolitano, a sustainable community market offering freshly prepared and artisanal food from local and international producers. Dining options at the mall include Auf Die Hand, Brammibal’s Donuts, Waffle Brothers and COMEBUY.
Other restaurants and dining spaces at The Playce include Paulaner Wirtshaus, Facil, Ristorante Essenza, Tizian, Vox Restaurant, Burgermeister, Pizza Hut, The Barn, Weilands and Maredo Steakhouse.
A 4,400m2 food hall by Manifesto, an innovative food concepts operator, is also part of the mall. It is Europe’s largest gourmet food hall featuring more than 25 restaurants, two bars and grocery stores.
The mall also has CinemaxX, which extended its lease by 20 years until 2040, as well as Casino Berlin. Gamestate, which is the largest arcade game hall in Berlin spread over an area of 1,100m2, is also part of the mall. Other entertainment venues include Club Theatre Berlin and Blue Man Group.
Potsdamer Platz details
The Potsdamer Platz square, with 17 buildings and ten streets, comprises office, residential and hotel buildings, as well as art and culture. Opened in 1998, it has approximately 130,000m² of office space, 46,000m² of retail space, 25,000m² of living space and two five-star hotels with 500 rooms. It also has a multi-storey car park with more than 2,100 parking spaces. The underground car park has three different entrances and includes 700 bicycle parking spaces for cyclists.
Brookfield Properties is redeveloping Potsdamer Platz, including the replacement of a bank consortium and the renovation of the shopping centre. The company secured €1.1bn ($1.25bn) in long-term financing from commercial banking company LBBW in February 2019.
Contractor involved
Ed. Zublin is responsible for the renovation and modernisation of the shopping facility. The company was awarded a contract for the renovation project in March 2020.
Stantec, an engineering, architecture and project management company, provided community development, landscape architecture and lighting design services for the project.
Bartenbach designed the lighting concept for the Potsdamer Platz Arkaden renovation project.
