The Netherlands-based firm OMA has been selected to renovate Berlin’s famous department store Kaufhaus des Westens—more commonly known as KaDeWe. Originally opened in 1907 with 258,000 square feet of retail space, the store has since expanded to more than 645,000 square feet, making it the largest retail space in continental Europe. OMA, which is headed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Rem Koolhaas, recently revealed plans to overhaul the historic KaDeWe building.

“KaDeWe’s sheer size makes it akin to a city,” the firm said in a statement. “It’s a three-dimensional network of paths, squares, neighborhoods, activities, and views unfolding through its large extensions and providing opportunities for commercial, social, and cultural encounters.” As such, OMA was motivated to divide the building into four distinguished quadrants, each featuring its own distinct staircase. The new design, the firm says, will make the retail space less overwhelming to customers “by breaking the original mass into smaller, easily accessible and navigable components.”

The ultimate goal for each quadrant is to target different audiences and act, in essence, as an independent department store. The exterior of the current structure will be slightly altered by OMA’s proposal, which adds a new glass rooftop extension. This will replace the vaulted restaurant that’s currently at the top of the building, and create a ninth floor of retail space.

Another sculptural staircase in OMA’s plan for KaDeWe, which is Europe’s largest retail store.

Over the past century, the building has gone through several renovations. And its evolution, especially during the postwar reconstruction period of the 1950s, is symbolic for Germany as a whole. The start date for OMA’s upcoming renovation has not yet been announced.