[Grumpy]

Anything going on here ?
It has been a while someone posted something about this city....

Wasn't there a huge proposal to change the famous Alexanderplatz ??

[Matty]

I'd also like to know.

[nick_taylor]

I actually have pictures from Berlin Town Hall showing the actual models of Alexanderplatx - around 7 towers, 2 definately 150m+

Alas exams mean I can not waste much time, but later...

[Grumpy]

I wait :)

Euh how is the situation with the metro extensions or better the entire urban network towards the future ?
What is planned and/or approved ?

[Grumpy]

Here is the study on the Alex -in german- :

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/aktuell/wettbewerbe/ergebnisse/2003/alexanderplatz/

an impression of what it could become :

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/aktuell/wettbewerbe/ergebnisse/2003/alexanderplatz/pix/av_Perspektiven_800.jpg

[Matty]

No offense, but yawners.

They should steal architects from Frankfort.

[Jai-C]

These pictures aren't proper proposals just studies. The problem with Berlin's future skyscrapers is that current vacancy rates are too high and the rents are too low. As long as the real estate market has not recovered this skyscraper planning is nothing more than a vision.

[Grumpy]

BLN Hauptbahnhof

http://www.db.de/site/shared/de/bilder/grafiken/modelle/berlin__hauptbahnhof__simulation__nacht,type=large.jpg
http://www.db.de/site/shared/de/bilder/grafiken/modelle/berlin__hauptbahnhof__simulation,type=large.jpg
http://www.db.de/site/shared/de/bilder/themenbilder/anlagen/bahnanlagen/baustellen/berlin__hauptbahnhof__panorama,type=large.jpg

Anschutz Arena

http://www.stadionwelt.de/stadionwelt_arenen/templates/neubau/anschutz_arena/Basketball_Nord.jpg
http://www.stadionwelt.de/stadionwelt_arenen/templates/neubau/anschutz_arena/PerspektiveSued.jpg
http://www.stadionwelt.de/stadionwelt_arenen/templates/neubau/anschutz_arena/Suedwest.jpg

Zoofenster

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/staedtebau-projekte/breitscheidplatz/pix/zoofenster_030512_379x650.jpg

Neues Schimmelpfennig Haus

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/staedtebau-projekte/breitscheidplatz/pix/casia_nahwirkg_450x675.jpg

Areal Postbahnhof

http://morgenpost.berlin1.de/z/photos/p/Bauprojekte/i87463ef22956bd50cd08a08232519e13_bmp.jpg

Am Zirkus

http://morgenpost.berlin1.de/z/photos/p/Bauprojekte/i1bd332b6c15c0affe41fe1f17aa6a639_bmp.jpg

Leipziger Platz

http://www.potsdamer-platz.net/images/leipzpl.jpg

Alexanderplatz

some impressions:

http://www.alexanderplatz.de/modellkollhoff.jpg

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/b-planverfahren/de/oeffauslegung/pix/lageplan.jpg

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/b-planverfahren/de/oeffauslegung/pix/alexanderstr.jpg

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/b-planverfahren/de/oeffauslegung/pix/ansicht_dircksen_str.jpg

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/b-planverfahren/de/oeffauslegung/pix/ansicht_gruner_str.jpg

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/b-planverfahren/de/oeffauslegung/pix/platz_dircksen_voltaire_str.jpg

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/b-planverfahren/de/oeffauslegung/pix/3d_ansicht.jpg

[canucklehead2]

I was just about to start a thread asking about Alexanderplatz. Personally, I think they should preserve the look and feel of the area, even if it still remains a symbol of the cities recent Communist past. I really hate when architecture is redesigned for political reasons, and this seems to be the case about downtown east Berlin. By making it generic modern European it loses the essense of what it unique, and why the area has become sort of a tourist attraction onto itself.

[Grumpy]

2 scale modells

http://img108.exs.cx/img108/8330/alexa2ng.jpg

http://img108.exs.cx/img108/1594/alexa23bu.jpg

[ninja]

How can they do all of this with a bad economy?

[DTiger]

The economy isn't bad anymore. Actually it was the best in the euro area in the first 3 months of this year

[The Dear Leader]

I was just about to start a thread asking about Alexanderplatz. Personally, I think they should preserve the look and feel of the area, even if it still remains a symbol of the cities recent Communist past. I really hate when architecture is redesigned for political reasons, and this seems to be the case about downtown east Berlin. By making it generic modern European it loses the essense of what it unique, and why the area has become sort of a tourist attraction onto itself.

Alexanderplatz is downright disgusting. It's faceless and ugly, so if it became faceless and decent looking it would be a huge improvement IMO.

[nick_taylor]

The Berlin Model in Berlin


The following are pictures taken from the Berlin Town Hall Model Room (way back in Easter this year - been so busy that I aint been able to find time to post all these pictures and lots more). White models indicate buildings already built, the wood-colour blocks indicate buildings either built, u/c or future proposals after 1990-2000. The main future proposals being around Alexanderplatz (where all those towers are)...currently only masking blocks, but general dimensions for the very long term (Berlin has a very high vacancy rate for the moment and near future).



http://img146.echo.cx/img146/2462/015sa.jpg


http://img146.echo.cx/img146/3701/027cs.jpg


http://img146.echo.cx/img146/6553/031gm.jpg


http://img146.echo.cx/img146/1593/041hv.jpg


http://img146.echo.cx/img146/7648/054jg.jpg


http://img146.echo.cx/img146/9708/062eq.jpg


http://img146.echo.cx/img146/7029/079vz.jpg


http://img146.echo.cx/img146/9766/090jg.jpg


http://img146.echo.cx/img146/1834/103sx.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/1497/172pk.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/6817/117lm.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/2386/257mi.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/2835/122sm.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/my.php?image=137ck.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/8951/292hd.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/674/146ge.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/7742/158fx.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/7715/162bo.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/8388/183nv.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/9571/199li.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/4051/203lo.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/7553/213ek.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/9654/227df.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/5911/231wl.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/1578/282hg.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/8951/292hd.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/1484/246ni.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/8312/266iz.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/5869/275vz.jpg


http://img291.echo.cx/img291/1355/305rb.jpg

[nick_taylor]

I actually have pictures from Berlin Town Hall showing the actual models of Alexanderplatx - around 7 towers, 2 definately 150m+

Alas exams mean I can not waste much time, but later... Exams over and here they are (around 30 pics):


http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?threadid=77939



Alexanderplatz is a shit hole - looks old, doesn't fit in with the way Berlin is going and is quite literally a tumour on the city. Bonus is that I got free beer while there :laugh:

[Grumpy]

I adore scale modells and this one is very interesting !
How long does this exhibition goes on ?

[nick_taylor]

This is a permanent exhibition I believe. I took more pictures which actually show Berlin at other stages in its history - I might give a taster of them in a few minutes. 2 of the other models of Berlin are shown in the background in these two pictures:

http://img291.echo.cx/img291/8312/266iz.jpg

http://img291.echo.cx/img291/5869/275vz.jpg

[nick_taylor]

http://img292.echo.cx/img292/6656/a1je.jpg

http://img296.echo.cx/img296/5456/b5ht.jpg

http://img292.echo.cx/img292/9144/c0cr.jpg

http://img296.echo.cx/img296/6860/d0bs.jpg

http://img296.echo.cx/img296/4897/e1ic.jpg

[Grumpy]

It is a permanent exhibition !!

„Stadtentwicklung – Pläne, Modelle, Projekte“ - die Ausstellung in der Behrenstraße

Die ständige Ausstellung „Stadtentwicklung – Pläne, Modelle, Projekte“ macht zwei Innenstadtmodelle in den Maßstäben 1:500 und 1:1.000 sowie das Planmodell der DDR aus dem Jahr 1989 der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich.

Beide Innenstadtmodelle ergänzen sich in ihren unterschiedlichen Maßstäben und räumlichen Details. Ergänzt werden diese Modelle durch eine interaktive Präsentation des digitalen 3D-Stadtmodells sowie die erstmalig auf der 7. Architektur-Biennale 2000 in Venedig gezeigte Ausstellung "Physiognomie einer Großstadt. Berlin 1945 - 1953 - 1989 - 2000 - 2010".

Ausstellungsort
Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung
Behrenstraße 42
in Berlin-Mitte
zu erreichen mit der U-Bahn Linie U6, U-Bhf Französische Straße
oder per Bus: 100, 147, 200, 348

[Grumpy]

found a 3D modell of the Potzdamer Platz

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/service/veroeffentlichungen/de/innenstadtkarten/pix/Ueberlagerung2D_3D.gif

[wisla_krakow]

Is that cluster of hi-rises the Potzdamer Platz in Nick's first post?

[Grumpy]

Is that cluster of hi-rises the Potzdamer Platz in Nick's first post?

yes , you mean this one I think

http://img291.echo.cx/img291/674/146ge.jpg

[qazwsx]

Cool, Berlin is going to have beautiful skyline.:cool:

[wisla_krakow]

No I meant this one on the right:

http://img291.echo.cx/img291/5869/275vz.jpg

[CrimsonARC]

The one on the right is the proposal for the redevelopment of Alexanderplatz.

http://img291.echo.cx/img291/6817/117lm.jpg

Potsdamer Platz is the cluster of buildings on the bottom left of the image you posted, just below the Tiergarten.

[wisla_krakow]

Thanks.

[Bernd]

That Alexanderplatz one will never come to pass.

Love the last shot of the Tiergarten looking east.

[DTiger]

Postdamer Platz:

http://img268.echo.cx/img268/5783/146ge4wj.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

http://img268.echo.cx/img268/2707/potsdamerplatzsuedseite1dc.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

http://img268.echo.cx/img268/6483/sonycenterpotsdamerplatz0lw.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

Pariser Platz:

http://img268.echo.cx/img268/2316/246ni3ha.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

http://img268.echo.cx/img268/609/brandenburgertorbaerenkr3pb.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

The last building will be the US embassy. It is in construction right now.

Main Station:

http://img124.echo.cx/img124/308/183nv5ri.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

http://img143.echo.cx/img143/5648/050516a010ts.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

http://img143.echo.cx/img143/9896/050516a157dr.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

[Grumpy]

I cannot find info on the Spreesinus project ... who can help me with this ?

[one very bored guy]

Love that new Hauptbahnhof they are building, I got off at it last year, and part of it is already up. Only problem is that I heard it won't be finished until 2020!

2020!

Now that's one slow construction. Maybe I read wrong, or it was a misprint - I certainly hope so.

[DTiger]

Love that new Hauptbahnhof they are building, I got off at it last year, and part of it is already up. Only problem is that I heard it won't be finished until 2020!

2020!

Now that's one slow construction. Maybe I read wrong, or it was a misprint - I certainly hope so.

2020? :uhh:

It will be finished some days before the WC will start in the next year. :)

http://img216.echo.cx/img216/1553/050612055jx.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

http://img216.echo.cx/img216/6608/050612336oq.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us):

[TheBerliner]

I cannot find info on the Spreesinus project ... who can help me with this ?

They cancelled it. Sad story, it was a really cool design.

[SHiRO]

These pictures aren't proper proposals just studies. The problem with Berlin's future skyscrapers is that current vacancy rates are too high and the rents are too low. As long as the real estate market has not recovered this skyscraper planning is nothing more than a vision.
But a very nice vision nonetheless! :)

[Grumpy]

I cannot find info on the Spreesinus project ... who can help me with this ?

They cancelled it. Sad story, it was a really cool design.

What a pity :(
Got any renderings for me ?

[Grumpy]

to follow the activities , a couple are taking continuiosly pictures which can be seen here :

http://www.ekunkel.de

[TheBerliner]

^ Nice site, some interesting shots of smaller stations around Berlin.

btw, I didn't find any photos of Spreesinus either.

[nick_taylor]

Love that new Hauptbahnhof they are building, I got off at it last year, and part of it is already up. Only problem is that I heard it won't be finished until 2020!

2020!

Now that's one slow construction. Maybe I read wrong, or it was a misprint - I certainly hope so. Only problem is the fact that its quite literally in the middle of nowhere. It will be a crucial north-south + wes-east axis connection, but the business development that will be built is not required in a city that quite simply has far too much vacant office space. It should have been built in Mitte.

[Grumpy]

I see on several renderings the old Landsberger Straße back.
Any reason why ??

[Grumpy]

posted by R@ptor in another section of SSP:

this building -Palast der Republik- is going to be demolished :

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/5886/32159843dt.jpg

[DTiger]

^ Yes finally! :)
The Berlin castle will be reconstructed on that place!
The Palace Facades will be Exclusively Financed by Donations. Costs between 360 and 800 million €

www.berliner-schloss.de
www.berliner-stadtschloss.de

Berlin Castle (before the war)
http://www.kulmbach.net/~MGF-Gymnasium/bilderdaten/_monarchien/bilderordner_geschichte/_stadtschloss3.jpg

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5314/200511032346330ze.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://www.eldaco.net/admin/ref/pic_ref/gross/20040621204415.jpg

http://www.eldaco.net/admin/ref/pic_ref/gross/20040621230143.jpg

http://www.eldaco.net/admin/ref/pic_ref/gross/20040621204449.jpg

http://www.berliner-schloss.de/picupload/20030801223646.jpg

http://www.eldaco.net/admin/ref/pic_ref/gross/20040621204543.jpg

http://www.berliner-schloss.de/picupload/20030802145305.jpg

[Grumpy]

Costs between 360 and 800 million € :eek:

How long is this going to last then to get all this money ?

[DTiger]

Only the facades will be financed by donations. That will be around 80 million €! Everything else will be financed by the governemnt.
Everyone can buy parts of the facade. For example one of the 5 portal has been already sold.

http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/7035/scannen0yh.th.jpg (http://img368.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scannen0yh.jpg)

[qzzq]

It's freakin huge!!

[James Bond Agent 007]

Wow, cool stuff!

[clintmlutes]

yeah, they couldn't even give the okay for a 30 story building at alexanderplatz, let alone a whole cluster of 30+ story buildings. i do like the idea of leaving the side of alexanderplatz with the fountain and rathaus the way it is and making something totally crazy out of the other side.

[clintmlutes]

there are many many problems with the tearing down of this building and the building of the palace. first of all the water table is so high in berlin that actually it may take much more money just to keep the water out. they don't know exactly how the earth will react. plus somehow the berliner dome across the street may be so severely affected that it could fall in on itself. also, they can't get the money to build the old palace and it will cost tons of taxpayers money that frankly germany and berlin don't have to spare.

from my point of view, the building should stay and they should use the structure to create a totally new building. so many people from the east say that they have amazing memories of seeing shows on the (quite up to date) theater stage inside and since the city wants to help the local arts community (especially dance) create new spaces, why not one in the center of the city - especially since the city lacks a world-class dance center which almost every other city in europe has. inside the building the space is quite functional and useable (and immense). i see no reason to destroy so much history in order to replace it with another history that one would rather have.

i say save the palast der republik. there is a last ditch effort happening now to do just that.

[James Bond Agent 007]

Wow, cool models!

I wonder who has the job of being the keeper of that model. That would be a cool job. :D

[tuy]

Potsdammer Platz is great to experience in person. I just stayed five nights at the Grand Hyatt Berlin, and had a little time away from my conference to explore the area.

[Grumpy]

i say save the palast der republik. there is a last ditch effort happening now to do just that.

What are you going to use it for ??
As a relic of the former DDR or are you going to do something with it so it still can be usefull ?

[Rambam]

I will be in Berlin this winter and must see this exhibit. Could someone translate the address:


"Ausstellungsort
Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung
Behrenstraße 42
in Berlin-Mitte"

I'm assuming these directions mean U bahn line 6 station "Französische Straße"?

zu erreichen mit der U-Bahn Linie U6, U-Bhf Französische Straße
oder per Bus: 100, 147, 200, 348

[Grumpy]

towers that were cancelled :

http://www.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2002/02/141757.jpg

http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/8459/alexjahn19930017of.jpg

http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/864/1991rogerszoofenster0016kt.jpg

http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/7071/1992hppsomringcenterhochhaus00.jpg

http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/5743/1993kollhoffpotsdamerplatz0010.jpg

http://dastier.dtsb.de/Fotos/Berlin(diverses)/PP%20Kollhoff%20(arch+)1.jpg

http://dastier.dtsb.de/Fotos/Berlin(diverses)/Eisenmann.jpg

http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/1486/66x26vw.jpg

ca. 200m

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/626/81berlin.jpg

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/626/754spreedreieck.jpg

http://www.elcroquis.es/elcroquis/Imagenes/120/18_SPREEDREIECK.jpg

[Slovenija]

More Comparison Photos on my favorite project in Europe:

Before:
http://www.berliner-schloss.de/picupload/20050120104941.jpg

After:
http://www.berliner-schloss.de/picupload/20050120105046.jpg

Before:
http://www.berliner-schloss.de/picupload/20050120105852.jpg

After:
http://www.berliner-schloss.de/picupload/20050120105629.jpg

Before:
http://www.berliner-schloss.de/picupload/20050120110213.jpg

After:
http://www.berliner-schloss.de/picupload/20050120105238.jpg

[DTiger]

I'm assuming these directions mean U bahn line 6 station "Französische Straße"?

Yes that's right! :tup:

[DTiger]

Berlin has a lot of important small projects right now. Here are some of them:

Oper Carree.

http://www.deutsches-architektur-forum.de/Galerie/data/502/18Opern_Carree_1.jpg

Gendarmen-Palais
http://www.deutsches-architektur-forum.de/Galerie/data/502/18Opern_Carree_31.jpg

Das Behrenpalais
http://www.operncarree.de/img/behrenspalais/head_01.jpg

Das Markgrafenpalais
http://www.operncarree.de/img/markgrafenpalais/head_01.jpg

Das Grand Hotel de Rome
http://www.deutsches-architektur-forum.de/Galerie/data/502/18Opern_Carree_21.jpg

Government buildings:

http://www.bbr.bund.de/bauen/grafik/bmu_vogelschau.jpg

http://www.bbr.bund.de/bauen/grafik/bmvel_perspektive.jpg

Römischer Hof (Palazzo Italia unter den Linden)

http://img306.imageshack.us/img306/614/img10576si.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Embassy of Saudi Arabia

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/8895/aktuellebaustellenprojektphoto.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Embassy of Korea

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/4044/ieca6ddf32b32120f18c46eafbbc45.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[DTiger]

One of my favourite projects in Berlin are the Townhouses

http://www.berlin-townhouses.de/images/content/mitten_in_berlin/lageplan.gif

Every Townhouse will look different.

http://img144.echo.cx/img144/5560/ansichttownhouses6kw.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

[olga]

^Wow, that looks like an absolutely lovely project! Super.


I agree with clintmlutes about destroying the Palast der Republik. Make something out of the existing building instead of rebuilding the old schloss. I'm not a fan of historic reconstructions. In some cases it's totally OK, but not if it means tearing down other buildings with an interesting and important history. Grumpy - I guess it would cost less to make something functionable out of the Palast than rebuilding that castle.

[Jai-C]

The history of the Stadschloss is at least as interesting as the history of the "Palast der Republik". If there's somebody to blame it's the communists who tore down the Stadtschloss in the first place.

[DTiger]

I agree! If they really want to keep it they can rebuilt the Palast somewhere between the commieblocks in east Berlin. There is no room for this building in the middle of Berlin. The facade is just a ugly mantle of a hated government and there's nothing historic inside anymore. But it's already decided anyway most of the Berliners want the castle back and the new government support it as well.

[olga]

Good for you.

[DTiger]

The United States government broke ground for the construction of the new American Embassy on Pariser Platz in October 2004. The building will open for business in the spring of 2008.

Renderings:
http://www.usembassy.de/germany/img/assets/5816/pariserplatz.pdf
http://www.usembassy.de/germany/img/assets/5816/behrenstrasse.pdf
http://www.usembassy.de/germany/img/assets/5816/arial.pdf

The structure will rise four and a quarter levels above the intersection of Behrenstrasse and Ebertstrasse and will close the last frontage on the historic Pariser Platz. The Embassy project is possible and will benefit from improvements to the street scape and historically sensitive renovations to the Platz and the urban gardens. A green band of trees, gardens and walkways will be created along the street fronts. The overall design has been enriched by extensive critique and collaboration with the Urban Planning authorities of Stadt Berlin and a sensitivity to the surrounding historic quarter required by the client, the Office of Overseas Building Operations of the United States Department of State.

The project is by the acclaimed American architect Moore Ruble Yudell of Santa Monica, California. The palette of materials and design features have been carefully considered to complement the setting and to provide an open yet secure presentation of America.

http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/3181/brandenburgertorbaerenkr6sp.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/3657/holocaustmahnmalluft8qt.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Newest construction photos can be found here:
http://deutsches-architektur-forum.de/forum/showthread.php?t=4060

[DTiger]

The Demolition of the former East German parliament building Palast der Republik should start in 2 weeks.

http://img500.imageshack.us/img500/4686/111829scaleup1fg.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Grumpy]

The keyhole shaped gap on the Pariser Platz side looks very special.
On the Behrenstraße-side there is the round shape that attracks alot of attention, looks like a window to the city or is it an observation deck?
On the roof what is that with those green layers?

About the re-building of the BLN schloss , I have mixed feelings.
Its like bringing something back from the past which is in my opinion kind of not-from-this-age.
I agree with "Jai-C" about his statement of the Palast-der-Republik but what is the general opinion about a building like the Fernsehturm who is a very communist landmark aswell...why not tare it down aswell and rebuilt a more modern copy on a far better location ?

Where is the rubbish of the demolition going to go on those boats (cause I cannot read the text on the picture , not clear enough to see)?

[Grumpy]

How is the actual situation here ?

http://img143.echo.cx/img143/9896/050516a157dr.jpg

[Grumpy]

Found this project , who can tell me more about all of this please?

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/4454/mediaspreevisualisierunggr6nw.jpg

[DTiger]

^^ This is the so called Mediaspree area
The new media and services district is emerging right on the River Spree, in the center of Berlin. It offers a multifaceted, appealing mix of excellently renovated listed buildings and modern functional architecture. A location for the future, bestowing a new image on the city of Berlin.

Internationally renowned architects ensure for the individual character of the various buildings and create an ensemble of quality : Becker, Gewers, Kühn & Kühn; BRT Bothe Richter Teherani; gmp – Architekten von Gerkan, Marg, Partner; Hemprich & Tophoff Architekten; Kny & Weber; Müller Reimann Architekten; Nalbach & Nalbach; Prof. Kollhoff; Léon Wohlhage Wernik Architekten; Volker Staab Architekten; WSSA Wörle, Siebig, Strauch Architekten, Spangenberg Architekten.

The motto is living and working on the River Spree: in addition to areas for media and services, there will be a wide variety of leisure and catering outlets and apartments. The new urban district therefore ensures for an attractive address with international flair.

You can watch a video about it here: http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/bauen/grosse_projekte/en/mediaspree.shtml

[DTiger]

At the Main Station they have started with the glass facade

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/263/dscn21951qo.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/539/051225a059rw.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Future rendering of this area
http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/2259/lehrter094oo18py.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[James Bond Agent 007]

Wow, those cancelled towers make me so :(

[Grumpy]

Gleisdreieck area development:

http://www.vivico.de/images/img1241.jpg

aerial impression:

http://www.vivico.de/images/img6.jpg

location in the city:

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/aktuell/wettbewerbe/ausschreibungen/gleisdreieck/pix/plan_600.jpg

[Grumpy]

New 3D with the Berliner Schloss on it:

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtmodelle/pix/histzent3d.jpg

Normally the proposed U5 line from Alexanderplatz to the new Lehrter Bahnhof is going underneath the building, is that still on this extension of the U5 line?

______________________________________________

Another new 3D of the Lehrter Bahnhof area:

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtmodelle/pix/lehrterbhf3d.jpg

What is that odd shaped structure to be built around the Humboldthafenbecken ?

______________________________________________________________


New 3D of the Oberspree re-development

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtmodelle/pix/oberspree3d.jpg

Seems like Mediaspree and Oberspree mean the same thing...

[Grumpy]

Molkenmarkt/Klosterviertel impression

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/staedtebau-projekte/molkenmarkt/pix/luftbild_300.gif

[James Bond Agent 007]

Wow, cool 3D diagrams!

[Grumpy]

Development of Berlin's Waterfront Locations
The Diversity of Waterfront Areas - "Blue Assets" for Urban Development

Demarcation of the primary development area
http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/pix/wasserlagen_vignette_01.gif

Berlin differs from other cities on the water in the diversity of its waterfront areas. In contrast to simple port cities, for instance, whose task for the future is the conversion of terminal and dock areas, Berlin also has river and canal segments in both urban and natural settings, as well as a superb, unparalleled variety of lakes.

As "blue assets", the rivers, harbours, canals, and lakes of the Berlin-Brandenburg region represent a significant attraction for those seeking the right location.

Although Berlin's prospects for development are fairly good, only a limited amount of land can be absorbed by the market. It is therefore necessary that current development projects be adapted to meet demand and that the choice of new areas for development be done in a transparent manner.

At the beginning the study on the "Development of Berlin's Waterfront Locations" included all of the land along navigable rivers and canals comprising 21 potential restructuring areas.

The next step involved identifying the study's primary focus, which consists of the Spree River with its lateral canals (17 areas). The individual locations were then evaluated with respect to use and significance, and strategies and measures were proposed on the basis of this evaluation.

The evaluation resulted in identifying four priority restructuring areas

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/pix/wasserlagen_vignette_03.gif

1.Berlin-Spandauer Schiffahrtskanal (Shipping Canal) / Nordhafen Harbour:

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/raeume/pix/schiffahrtskanal_01.jpg
http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/raeume/pix/schiffahrtskanal_04g.jpg
http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/raeume/pix/schiffahrtskanal_03g.gif

2.The Banks of the Spree in Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/raeume/pix/spreeufer_02g.jpg
http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/raeume/pix/spreeufer_04g.jpg
http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/raeume/pix/spreeufer_03g.gif

View of the multifunctional hall (Berlin-Arena)
http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/raeume/pix/spreeufer_arena_01.jpg
http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/raeume/pix/spreeufer_arena_03g.jpg

3.Schöneweide

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/raeume/pix/schoeneweide_02g.jpg
http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/raeume/pix/schoeneweide_04g.jpg
http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/raeume/pix/schoeneweide_03g.gif

4.The Mouth of the Spree with the Sophienwerder Peninsula

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/raeume/pix/spreemuendung_02g.jpg
http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/raeume/pix/spreemuendung_04g.jpg
http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtentwicklungsplanung/de/wasserlagen/raeume/pix/spreemuendung_03g.gif

more information about this project contact this adress:
oeffentlichkeitsarbeit@senstadt.verwalt-berlin.de

[Grumpy]

Detailed plan of the Lehrter Bahnhof area

http://fbinter.stadt-berlin.de/fb/index.jsp?loginkey=zoomStart&bbox=22180,21653,22823,22079&mapId=bplan

[Grumpy]

Berliner density in the city bewteen 1940 and 2010 : click on the black map

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/planen/stadtmodelle/de/schwarzplaene.shtml

[DTiger]

The New shopping center "Das Schloss Steglitz" is nearly completed. It will open in a few weeks!

Renderings:
http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/620/architekturfoto02full3em.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img358.imageshack.us/img358/6702/architekturillu01full3wb.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Before the construction start in 2003:
http://img358.imageshack.us/img358/7030/architekturfoto01full8uv.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Today's webcam shot
http://img383.imageshack.us/img383/7458/2301063dv.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

part of the new building
http://img383.imageshack.us/img383/3599/1big4qh.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


http://www.das-schloss-steglitz.de/

[Jonovision]

WOW, really impressive. Berlin is really good at intigrating the old and the new.

[DTiger]

A jury has chosen a design for a memorial in Berlin to gays and lesbians persecuted and killed under the Nazis. The memorial, whose construction was approved by the German parliament in December 2003, will stand on the edge of the capital's Tiergarten Park, opposite the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
The design, by Danish-born Michael Elmgreen and Norwegian native Ingar Dragset, is shaped as a gray concrete slab with a window, allowing visitors to view a permanent film projection of 2 kissing men.
The new memorial's design was picked Wednesday from 17 proposed models, and the federal government has pledged up to $610,000 to fund construction.

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/6783/81486az5cs.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Grumpy]

Why not use 2 different statues with 2 males and 2 females instead this horrible grey thing?


What about that ferrys wheel that was planned , is it a go or on hold/cancelled?

and what about those enormous plans for the BBI Airport ??

[DTiger]

I'm neither happy nor unhappy with the designe! It's alright
statues would be too kitschy imo nevertheless I would like to see the other 16 proposed models.

I'm quiet optimistic that the BBI constructions will start this year.
http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/5398/112161scaleup0an.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

According to urban development minister Ingeborg Junge-Reyer the ferry wheel will be build near the zoo (Breitscheidplatz). It will be up to 175m high (Costs 60 million Euro)

[The Great Scaper]

Wow what cool stuff!!!! Amazing! Regarding the Zoo, hopefully the lions don't escape!!! --BB--

[Grumpy]

What about that ferrys wheel that was planned , is it a go or on hold/cancelled?



this proposal:
http://morgenpost.berlin1.de/images/2004/11/22/berlin/92475_scaleUp.jpg

[Grumpy]

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/01/09/arts/Ouro1650.jpg

Trying to Save Berlin Relic From the Dustbin

BERLIN - Some buildings are harder to love than others. No matter how many good citizens jump to their defense, they can't seem to shake a bad reputation.

But by any standard, the Palace of the Republic here is a particularly tough case. Opened in 1976 as the home of the East German Parliament, the huge steel-and-concrete building, clad in bronze-colored windows, has become an emblem of a failed ideology. The government padlocked it soon after reunification of the two Germanys in 1990, gutted its interiors toward the end of the decade and has since been trying to tear down what's left of it.

Now, after years of delays, demolition could begin as early as this month.

Yet in the last year or so, a growing chorus of voices has been rising in defense of the building. These are not grizzled old Communists hoping for a return to the glory days of socialism. They are architectural activists, mainly in their late 30's and early 40's, who refuse to see the Palace in purely ideological terms. Less dogmatic than their elders, they have cited elements of the building's beauty that many Germans - conditioned by decades of cold war oratory - find difficult to to see.

Their cause is broader than a single building: it is a revolt against historical censorship. Like preservationists struggling to save 2 Columbus Circle in New York or late-Soviet landmarks in Moscow, they are fighting those who insist on pitting history against modernity, people who would seek to smooth over historical contradictions in favor of a more simplistic narrative. Their battleground is the world their parents left them: the oft-maligned Modernist buildings of the 1960's and 70's.

Few buildings are as politically fraught as the Palace. It was built on the grave of the Stadtschloss, a Baroque palace that the East Germans demolished in 1950 after denouncing it as a grotesque symbol of nationalist pride. After German reunification, the building's interiors were stripped bare when it was discovered that its steel frame was coated by hazardous asbestos. Its famous starburst-shaped light fixtures, which numbered in the hundreds, were unceremoniously ripped out. Meanwhile, a movement was born to replace it with a new version of what is commonly called the Schloss - a self-conscious re-creation of historical facades, with a conventional interior.

Philipp Oswalt, a 41-year-old architect who helped organize the campaign to save the Palace, has no illusions about its history. He is not blind to the sins of the former East German government. Trying to replicate its original rooms, he admits, would be as false as trying to rebuild the Schloss - a parody of real history.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/01/09/arts/Ouro3650.jpg
The Palace of the Republic in 1986.

But Mr. Oswalt does not dismiss the Palace as an architectural embarrassment, as many older conservative architects have done. Along with the parliament, it included a concert hall that was one of the most technologically advanced of its day; its seating could be mechanically reconfigured to suit different events. The building's dazzling public lobby, surrounded by several tiers of restaurants, was once considered the center of social life in East Berlin. With its countless hanging light fixtures, it was as opulent in its way as Lincoln Center - a cultural complex that is also considered by some aesthetes to be in bad taste. And many recall dancing the night away in its underground disco.

The more quickly you shed your prejudices, the better the building looks as a work of architecture. The Palace is ugliest when approached from the west along Unter der Linden. Set perpendicular to the street, its hulking form seems to turn a cold shoulder to the imposing predominantly 19th-century monuments that face it across the street, including Karl Friedrich Schinkel's Altes Museum, whose classically proportioned facade is one of the great accomplishments of German architecture. The palace's comparatively uniform facade is far less graceful. And sadly, most of its bronzed windows are cracked and covered in dirt. (The last time I visited, a decrepit Ferris wheel - part of a cheesy Christmas fair - rose in front of the Palace's main facade, adding to the sense of indignity.)

Yet many of the Palace's problems could be solved by simply rethinking the barren area just to the west, where a sensitively designed new building could begin to weld the palace and its 19th-century neighbors into a coherent urban composition. And the Palace has a harmonious relationship with the 1960's and 1970's structures to the east. Seen from the base of the soaring 1969 television tower, for example, its reflective glass facade is a serene backdrop to the emptiness of Marx-Engels Platz. The uniform strip of Communist-era buildings that frames the plaza's northern edge lends the area an unexpected unity.

If anything, in fact, the Palace's relationship to its context evokes that of Hans Scharoun's 1979 State Library, an acknowledged landmark that is in many ways the Palace's Western counterpart. Both were built at the height of the cold war as supposed emblems of a government's progressive values. Just as the Palace turns its back on the 19th-century city, Scharoun's library now turns its back on Potsdamer Platz, the former death zone that separated postwar East and West, now the site of a cluster of new corporate towers.

And then there's the interior of the Palace, which is far more likely to stir the interest of a young architect than the facades. Divided into three distinct areas, with the parliament and concert halls flanking the main lobby, the interior has been reduced to a grid of rusting steel beams. Even so, many of these areas retain some of their original character. To New Yorkers, the lobby's grand staircase, surrounded by rows of balconies, may conjure the grand hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And here and there, you can still get a feel for the lustrous light that filtered through the bronzed windows into the rows of corridors that wrap around the building.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/01/09/arts/Ouro4450.jpg

Embedded within their steel frame, the three adjoining spaces evoke an immense hive buzzing with urban activity.

That dynamism has led Mr. Oswalt and others to compare the Palace to an earlier favorite of the architectural avant-garde: Cedric Price's 1961 Fun Palace for East London. A theoretical design that was never built, Price's Palace was conceived as a constantly shifting array of cultural activities plugged into a gigantic steel frame. Lacking walls, floors or a roof, it relied on an elaborate system of mechanical systems intended to allow the public to move freely through the space. Open-air "rooms" were framed by giant video projection screens and curtains of warm air.

The hollow shell of the Palace of the Republic also brings to mind more recent projects, like Rem Koolhaas's 1994 Congrexpo, an exhibition and congress hall in Lille, France, that was conceived as a collection of urban fragments enveloped in a gigantic egg-shaped shell.

What these projects share is a resolve to pack the chaotic intensity of a city into a single building. And it is that ethos that many young architects now hope to tap into to revive the Palace. Even in its state of decay, it exudes a spirit that has so far escaped people who are blinded by anti-Modernist prejudices and fearful of anything that originated in the postwar Communist East.

The split between these forces has an Oedipal subtext, as well. Like most of us, many Germans are more comfortable dealing with the distant past, however fraught. In recent years, for example, Berlin has happily renovated many of its Nazi-era landmarks, like the 1936 Olympic Stadium by Werner March, a building whose rigid geometrical forms were a stark expression of Nazi conformity. (It will be home to the 2006 World Cup soccer championship.)

By comparison, the generation that built the Palace is still mostly alive. For many Germans, that means their parents. It may be too packed with psychological baggage for many people to judge rationally. You could see the resentment against the Palace as a form of parricide, the inevitable break of the sacred bond between parent and child.

In the late 1970's, the analyst Hans Loewald said this break is never complete; when it is repressed, it only tends to resurface in other forms. The most thoughtful young architects working today seem to have grasped this message. They are more tolerant of the contradictions of the past, and more interested in making peace with their own history. They recognize that buildings loaded with emotional meaning are often in the most need of protection - and that they raise the most interesting questions about how we shape a narrative of architectural history.

The most promising future for the Palace, in fact, may be to seize on its structure as a framework for new ideas. Price's design offers one road map in this regard. I can also envision a commission in which each of the three zones is reconceived by a different architect. Since the German government has never invited architects to study alternate futures for the building seriously, we don't yet know what's possible.

How many sites present as rich an opportunity to investigate how a society can move forward without cutting itself off from the most sensitive parts of its history?

In this regard, the government's support for a kitschy castle should be viewed as the worst kind of architectural crime: an act of cultural parricide that rules out the possibility of redemption.

[Grumpy]

Quarter at Tacheles

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/bauen/grosse_projekte/pix/tacheles_390.jpg

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/bauen/grosse_projekte/pix/tacheles-plan.gif

The Quarter at Tacheles on the corner of Friedrichstrasse / Oranienburger Strasse is the first urban development project in Berlin along the lines of New Urbanism. At the same time, the ensemble is one of the biggest new building projects in the historic Berlin suburb.

The master plan for the quarter is by Andre Duany (Duany Plater Zyberk and Company, Miami), one of the leading protagonists of New Urbanism in the USA.

True to the principles of this style of architecture, which establishes a link to the historical city with its diverse mixed use, the Quarter at Tacheles offers space for culture, recreation, life and work.

On a total space of some 82,000 sq.m. gross floor area, retail outlets and restaurants, a five-star designer hotel with around 220 rooms, office space and owner-occupied apartments will be erected by the year 2005. The Art Forum Tacheles, whose renown extends far beyond the boundaries of the region, is run by the artists of Tacheles on an area of 8,500 sq.m.

The Quarter has been designed as an open ensemble of spaces, courtyards and streets. The architecture also encompasses traditional elements. The builder/developer of the quarter spanning 28,000 sq.m. is the FUNDUS Group with Johannishof Projektentwicklung GmbH & Co. KG.

[Grumpy]

Refurbishment of Museum Island

In an ensemble unmatched anywhere else in the world, Berlin houses its most important art collection. The buildings on Museum Island, part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, house archaeological collections and art from the 19th century. The Altes Museum, constructed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in 1830, was the first museum building on the island; it was followed by three other buildings up to 1930. The main tourist attraction is the Pergamon Museum with the Pergamon Altar from the Hellenic era. The museum ensemble is being extensively refurbished over the next few years in order to accommodate the increased volume of visitors and to meet the requirements of modern exhibition presentation.

The master plan under the aegis of the architect, David Chipperfield, envisages an interlinked presentation of the exhibitions. The individual buildings are to be connected by a subterranean promenade which will be used for a general tour. A new entrance building is being erected behind the Neues Museum.
Builder/Developer:
Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz
(Foundation for Prussian Cultural Heritage)
Architects:
David Chipperfield Architects, London and Berlin
Hilmer + Sattler + Albrecht, Munich and Berlin
Heinz Tesar, Vienna and Berlin
O.M. Ungers, Cologne and Berlin
Completion:
probably 2010

Nordbahnhof

The modern and generous office complex with approx. 65.000m² on seven floors and approx.
440 underground parking spaces is being developed on the historic, former Nordbahnhof site between Invalidenstrasse and Chausseestrasse.

From December 2004 approx. 2.300 Deutsche Bahn AG employees will have a new position with optimal transport connections.

The project constitutes a milestone for the development of north Berlin Mitte in the new government quarter.
Client:
Nordbahnhof Berlin Grundstücksgesellschaft bR and shareholders TERCON Immobilien Projektentwicklungs GmbH, München, part of IVG Immobilien AG and RENDATA Real Estate GmbH, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin
Endinvestor:
DB Real Estate Investment GmbH, Deutsche Bank Group
Architect:
RKW Rhode Kellermann Wawrowsky, Düsseldorf
General planning:
ECE Projektmanagement G.m.b.H. & Co. KG
Tenant:
Deutsche Bahn AG

[Grumpy]

Osthafen Project

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/bauen/grosse_projekte/pix/osthafen_390.jpg

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/bauen/grosse_projekte/download/blick_arena.pdf

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/bauen/grosse_projekte/download/blick_oberbaumbruecke.pdf

Osthafen, situated on the northern bank of the Spree river and only 10 minutes from Berlin's centre, offers an ideal waterside location for offices and residence between the restored harbour storehouses.

The approximately 140.000 m² block building, BGF, opens itself on many levels to the Spree walkway.
The building structure offers variability and flexibility of use size from 6.000 m² to 70.000 m², if necessary realisable in several construction sections.
The eastpoint of Osthafen forms a tower alongside the existing Treptowers.

Architect Master Plan:
nps tchoban voss, Berlin
Architect building:
nps tchoban voss, Höhne Architekten
Client:
BEHALA

[Grumpy]

Sonae Imobiliária

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/bauen/grosse_projekte/pix/sonae_390.jpg

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/bauen/grosse_projekte/pix/sonae_300.jpg

The historical centre of Berlin, the area around Alexanderplatz, will soon be enriched with a three storey shopping centre with two further floors for entertainment, leisure and gastronomy on a total surface of 80.000 m² running alongside Alexanderstrasse, Grunerstrasse and Dircksenstrasse and to the south adjacent to Alexanderplatz.

The overall complex, developed by Sonae Imobiliária, including a 40 storey office tower, a large square as well as good parking facilities will make it a unique shopping destination and new experience, living and business world in the metropolis of Berlin.
To the south of the area a second 65 m high tower is being developed by DEGEWO/GEWOBE, completing the exclusive living and business space including a 39.000m² hotel.

Project Company:
SONAE Projekt Berlin GmbH
Shareholder:
SONAE Imobiliária Developments SGPS im Joint Venture mit DEGEWO Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Wohnungsbaus und GEWOBE Wohnungswirtschaftliche Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH

[Grumpy]

The KPM-Quarter

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/bauen/grosse_projekte/pix/kpm_390.jpg

An example of Prussian handicraft tradition is to be found in the direct vicinity of the Charlottenburg banks of the river Spree. Since 1870 high-grade porcelain has been produced in the Königliche Porzellanmanufaktur.

The historic manufacturing plant will be the heart of a new urban quarter on the western edge of the Tiergarten.

Between Ernst-Reuter-Platz and the Victory Column in the western inner city, an ensemble of residential and office buildings is being erected around the Königliche Porzellanmanufaktur refurbished by the Gewerbesiedlungs-Gesellschaft.

The new buildings are being constructed by Bavaria Objekt- und Baubetreuung GmbH. The first-class hotel, with around 284 rooms on Straße des 17. Juni, will be visible from afar. One of the three office buildings is to become the "Verbändehaus Spreestadt" (centre for associations) for the Federal Association of Panel Doctors, the Federal Chamber of Physicians and the German Hospital Society.

The quarter will also have a boarding house and three residential buildings close to the river Spree. Altogether, the KPM quarter has approximately 85,000 sq.m. gross floor area, of which 42,000 sq.m. are office space.

A "Theme World of Porcelain" is being created in the historical manufacturing plant with a cultural programme and museum shop. The link between local tradition and modern services is sure to turn the project into a local attraction for visitors to Berlin.

Investors:
Bavaria Objekt- und Baubetreuung GmbH
Gewerbesiedlungs-Gesellschaft mbH
Königliche Porzellanmanufaktur
Architects:
Aukett & Heese, Berlin
Braun & Voigt, Frankfurt a. Main
Glass & Bender, Berlin
Heinle, Wischer und Partner, Berlin
Ortner & Ortner, Berlin
v. Gerkan, Marg und Partner (gmp), Berlin
Completion:
2005

check out here : http://www.archlab.de

[Grumpy]

Program Area Ostkreuz

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/wohnen/urban/pix/uebersichtsplan.jpg

The Urban II location in Berlin is a 425 ha area around Ostkreuz. It is situated about 5 km south of the city centre, and comprises parts of the districts of Lichtenberg and Friedrichshain. The Urban II area consists of four neighbourhoods which are structurally very different from each other. The Lichtenberg side contains the large housing estate Frankfurter Allee-Süd, the original Victoriastadt and the area around Weitlingstraße with its mix of pre- and post-first-world-war tenement flats. On the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg side is the predominantly original nineteenth century residential area Stralauer Kiez, including the listed Industrial Works in Oberbaumcity, which is now an extensively renovated location for service industries.

Like a hinge between the districts lies Ostkreuz station, which is served by city and Ringbahn trains. Railways, which cut across the locality in all directions, take up almost a quarter of the total land area. These, together with the heavily used minor roads which surround the area, make the individual neighbourhoods into isolated islands.

[Grumpy]

Sportclub Berlin

http://www.archlab.de/projekte/offentliche_bauten/sportclub_berlin/sportclub_berlin_1/sport001.jpg

http://www.archlab.de/projekte/offentliche_bauten/sportclub_berlin/sportclub_berlin_3/sport003.jpg

http://www.archlab.de/projekte/offentliche_bauten/sportclub_berlin/sportclub_berlin_5/sport005.jpg

http://www.archlab.de/projekte/offentliche_bauten/sportclub_berlin/sportclub_berlin_2/sport002.jpg

cad modell

http://www.archlab.de/projekte/offentliche_bauten/sportclub_berlin/sport006.jpg

[Grumpy]

Monuments in Berlin: Berliner Schloss

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/denkmal/denkmale_in_berlin/pix/bodendenkmale/berliner_schloss.jpg

Berliner Schloss
Schlossplatz, Mitte; foundations of the Berlin City Palace, beginning of the 18th century

The excavation on the Berlin Schlossplatz (Castle Square) was to answer three questions: To what extent are foundations of the palace preserved? Which remains of the Schlüter Münzturm (Coin Tower), the construction of which began in the area of the northwestern corner of the palace in 1702, have survived? Are there any traces left of older settlements outside the palace building? In the center of the excavation area are the remains of the palace ruin dismantled in 1950/51. In the basement floor the building substance was largely intact, but had been considerably altered through the installation of heating units in the years 1891 through 1894.
The construction of the Münzturm was entrusted to the director of palace construction at the time, Andreas Schlüter. The tower was to be built in 1701 at the location of the new fountains at the northwestern corner of the palace. At a height of 98 m it would have been three times as high as the palace façade. The royal mint was to move in to this structure upon its completion, and a waterwheel driven by the Münzkanal (Mint Canal) was to be installed. Shortly before its completion in 1706, the tower began to lean. All of Schlüter's attempts to stop this leaning tendency were unsuccessful, resulting in his removal from office. His successor Eosander von Göthe had the tower demolished. Remains of this Münzturm were found as early as 1880 and 1901 during canalization construction on the precincts of the palace. At that time parts of the bung wall for the construction pit and foundations at a length of around 37 m were identified. An area of this earlier construction pit and remains of the foundations of the Münzturm are visible in the present excavation field. In the northern external area of the palace, located toward the Lustgarten (Leisure Garden), archeologists were able to identify a settlement layer from the period from the twelfth through the fourteenth century. This is the oldest settlement horizon on the northern Spree island Cölln. The exposed excavation find, complemented with information plaques, is to be integrated into the planned new construction.

[Grumpy]

Monuments in Berlin: Hochbahn

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/denkmal/denkmale_in_berlin/pix/industrie_und_technik/hochbahn.jpg

Hochbahn
Bülowstraße, Overhead railway installation between the Kreuzberg district boundary and Nollendorfplatz including entry ramp, 1899-1902 by Heinrich Schwieger, Alfred Grenander, Bruno Möhring, Cremer & Wolffenstein
Oberbaumbrücke 1892-96 by Otto Stahn

The standard railway system built by Siemens & Halske in 1896 and 1902 (presently line U1/U2) was Germany's first electrical overhead and underground railway system and is considered to be a master achievement in technical engineering. Linked to transfer stations of the city commuter railway, the rail line from East Berlin through the southern belt was built during the period of imperial consolidation via the Potsdam and Anhalter railway terrain to Charlottenburg. The Hochbahnviadukt (elevated train viaduct) and overhead railway stations were planned by Heinrich Schwieger and Johannes Bousset as transparent constructions of iron framework and austere engineering, and its easterly section was executed accordingly. The western stretch of the viaduct route and its railway stations, however, were built in a considerably more stately design. In accordance with a planning change in 1899, the line beginning at Nollendorfplatz station was constructed as an underground railway. Alfred Grenander developed design principles for underground stations of the standard railway which remained obligatory for Berlin's U-Bahn constructions for many decades.

In addition to station types (Warschauerstrasse, Görlitzer Bahnhof and Prinzenstrasse), the present standard railway is characterized to a great extent by Bruno Möhring's "artistically detailed" overhead railway stations at Bülowstrasse, Kottbusser Tor and Hallesches Tor, the latter of which were later reconstructed and renovated by Alfred Grenander. The Oberbaumbrücke, constructed from1894-96 according to plans by Otto Stahn, serves as the Spree crossing to the terminal station at Warschauer Strasse. Reconstructed from 1992-95, it symbolizes the integration of the once divided city.

[Grumpy]

Monuments in Berlin: Brandenburger Tor

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/denkmal/denkmale_in_berlin/pix/unter_den_linden/brandenburger_tor.jpg

Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate)
Pariser Platz (Paris Square), Mitte; 1788-91 by Carl Gotthard Langhans, sculptures by Johann Gottfried Schadow

The Brandenburg Gate is the trademark of Berlin. The main entrance to the city, surrounded by the wall for thirty years, was known throughout the world as a symbol for the division of the city and for the division of the world into two power blocs. Today's international visitors to Pariser Platz come to re-experience this first gateway to the city, and to enjoy the long-denied freedom to walk through this magnificent work of art and look at it up close.
It was built as the grandest of a series of city gates constituting the passages through the customs wall encircling the city at the end of the eighteenth century. It is the only gate which survived, because it constitutes the monumental termination of Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of linden trees which led directly to the residence of the Prussian kings until the destruction of the city castle. The entire construction and ornamentation of the gate reflect the extraordinary importance it was granted by its builders. The architect selected as the model for his design the Propylaea in Athens, the monumental entry hall of the Acropolis. Just as the Propylaea led to a shrine of the Ancient world, this gate was to represent the access to the most important city of the Prussian kingdom. This reference to Antiquity made it the structure which founded the Classic age of architecture in Berlin, an epoch which brought the city its sobriquet "Spreeathen" ("Athens of the Spree" -- Berlin's river is called the Spree). The most important sculptor in Berlin during this period carried out the accompanying agenda of visual explanation. The Brandenburg Gate is crowned with a quadriga depicting the goddess of victory, "who brings peace", marching into the city. The relief on the pedestal portrays her again with her attendants. Personifications of virtues like friendship and statesmanship are represented, along with symbols of arts and sciences, because they make a city like Berlin bloom in times of peace. Reliefs with the exploits of Hercules in the passages allude to the time of the wars and the subsequent period of reconstruction, during which Friedrich II made Prussia into a European power and laid the foundation for flourishing trade and crafts. The gate thus is also a memorial for the king who died a few years before its construction.
The Brandenburg Gate is not only a symbol of division and reunification; it was also the site of many other events in German history, a history characterized by so many peaks and troughs. In 1806 Napoleon marched triumphantly into Berlin and carried the Quadriga away with him to Paris as a spoil of war. In 1814, after the victorious conclusion of the wars of liberation, Schinkel replaced the oak wreath on the goddess' scepter with an iron cross, changing the figure's interpretation from a courier of peace into a goddess of victory. In 1933 the National Socialists marched through the gate in a martial torch parade, introducing the darkest chapter of German history, ultimately leaving the city destroyed and Germany divided.

[Grumpy]

Monuments in Berlin: Unter den Linden

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/denkmal/denkmale_in_berlin/pix/unter_den_linden/unter_den_linden_ueber.jpg

Unter den Linden
A boulevard of linden trees was planted from 1647 before the gates of the city by the Great Elector, who wanted to ride from his castle to the hunting grounds in the Tiergarten more comfortably. Over the course of its long history, this stretch became the best known and grandest street in Berlin. Around the end of the seventeenth century it became the central axis of the newly built suburb Dorotheenstadt. After his ascension to the throne in 1740, Friedrich II expanded the boulevard by adding his "Forum Fridericianum" with the opera, library, Prince Heinrich Palace - today, the Humboldt University - and St. Hedwig's Cathedral. These structures were built on the space freed up by the demolition of the militarily obsolete Memhardt fortifications.
The art-loving king christened his "Forum" with the motto "Fridericus Rex Apollini et Musis" (dedicated to King Friedrich, Apollo and the Muses), written on the gable of the Deutschen Staatsoper (German National Opera). This agenda was by all means meant as a political manifesto: Friedrich wanted to link his kingship with the sciences (Apollo) and the arts (Muses). The realization of this grandiose construction program was delayed by the Frederican wars, however, which started at the same time and lasted until 1780. The king's ambition for power politics long outweighed his partiality for culture.
After the wars of liberation from 1813-15, the street was converted to a "via Triumphalis" to commemorate the victory over Napoleon and furnished with new, monumental buildings as well as statues of deserving generals. Thus an urban space was created between the Brandenburg Gate and the Schlossbrücke (Castle Bridge) which, along with the castle district, comprised the architectural climax of the capital.
The Second World War left most of the promenade in rubble. Its appearance today is characterized by the reconstruction efforts of the fifties and sixties. Damaged monumental buildings in the eastern section, for instance the Zeughaus (Armory), the Opera or the Humboldt University, were restored on the outside and their destroyed interiors usually renovated in accordance with historical studies. The gaps in the western section of Unter den Linden could not be closed until after the wall was built in the sixties. Constructed near the border were predominantly the embassies of allied states and office buildings. After the rejection of the exorbitantly expensive building style of the "National Tradition", with its elaborate, historicizing forms such as those which still dominate the boulevard Karl-Marx-Allee today, the buildings built on the western section of Unter den Linden were industrially produced, in imitation of international currents in architecture. They were to demonstrate the GDR's competitiveness and the modernity of the young state.
Since the dissolution of the GDR, the western end of the boulevard, Pariser Platz, is being reconstructed along the old ground plan. The horticultural installations already have been restored.

[Grumpy]

Neighborhood Management

In recent years, economic difficulties, increasing pauperization, and migration of the middle classes have caused changes in the social structure of some of Berlin's districts, often worsened by ethnic problems.

Therefore, in 1999, the government of Berlin, in close co-operation with the concerned boroughs, has defined 15 'areas with special development needs'. In 2001, two more areas have been selected. In order to achieve a lasting improvement of the situation in those areas and to contribute to their stabilization, it was decided to implement a 'Neighborhood Management' (NM) in each area. This was done within the framework of the program 'Districts with Special Development Needs - The Socially Integrative City' initiated by the national government and the governments of the federal states of Germany in 1999.

Initially, the pilot scheme was intended to run for three years. For the time being, it is prolonged for two more years, until spring 2004.

In these 17 neighborhoods, about 227,000 people live altogether. The numbers of residents in each neighborhood range between about 4,500 and 24,000 people.
Click here for the main portal of Berlin's Neighborhood Management Areas and their pages:
http://www.quartiersmanagement-berlin.de

[Grumpy]

Unknown tower on a unknown location

http://www.archlab.de/projekte/offentliche_bauten/berlin/berlin_1/berlin004.jpg

http://www.archlab.de/projekte/offentliche_bauten/berlin/berlin_4/berlin002.jpg

http://www.archlab.de/projekte/offentliche_bauten/berlin/berlin_2/berlin003.jpg

[James Bond Agent 007]

Impressive job Grumpy! Keep us updated! :tup:

I don't always respond to these threads but I do keep track of what's going on, so your efforts are not in vain. ;)

[Grumpy]

Tiergartentunnel to be opened for traffic on March 26th

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/pix/home/verkehr/tunnel_tiergarten_darrelmann_150.jpg

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/pix/home/verkehr/tunnel_tiergarten_krebs_kiefer_600.jpg

[Grumpy]

New approved school of ballet

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/aktuell/wettbewerbe/ergebnisse/2006/ballettschule/pix/01_gmp_mo_800.jpg

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/aktuell/wettbewerbe/ergebnisse/2006/ballettschule/pix/gmp_eg_800.jpg

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/aktuell/wettbewerbe/ergebnisse/2006/ballettschule/pix/gmp_strassenansicht_800.jpg

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/aktuell/wettbewerbe/ergebnisse/2006/ballettschule/pix/gmp_hofansicht_800.jpg

[st.petr]

The demliton of the Palace of the Republic is an admirable idea. I wished Warsaw such a projects, and I don't understand protesters. :rolleyes:

[Grumpy]

The demoliton of the Palace of the Republic is an admirable idea. I wished Warsaw such a projects, and I don't understand protesters. :rolleyes:

I would love to see mayor improvements in BLN like they are constructing in Warsaw.
The Zloty Tarasy project is just fabulous and the new Liebermann tower has a stunning design