The ground has not yet been broken on this project from Danish architects 3XN but already the building is inspiring controversy. Situated just south of Berlin’s new main railway terminus the Cube on Washingtonplatz will fill in what is now just a grassy lot and obscure views of the new government buildings along the Spree. The architects propose a “a strong geometrical shape with a sculptural facade” and cite their experience designing and building modern work environments with a high value placed on transparency and flexibility.

While entire quarter was razed after being destroyed in WWII and had been long a dead zone for urban planners, the 2006 opening of the new station returned the area to its central role as an important transport hub not only for Germany, but all of Europe. The architects have stated their intentions to respect the flows of traffic and pedestrians in this prominent location and point out that their design fits within the accepted plan for the quarter as proposed by architect O.M. Ungers.

But the clincher is, after being talked out of moving their entire operations to Hamburg by Chancellor Merkel recently, here in Berlin Deutsche Bahn gets whatever it wants!