Charlottenstrasse, Berlin, Germany

Related people

John P. Schooley Jr. (was created by)
Luca Meda (architect)
Gotz Bellmann and Walter Bohm (was created by)

Date

1994-1996

Description

"Until 1990, the plot bounded by Schützenstrasse, Zimmerstrasse, Markgrafenstrasse and Charlottenstrasse was part of the Berlin Wall complex. Before the War it was part of the so-called newspaper area - here and in the surrounding area there were a large number of publishers and printers. The block was cleared apart from one building of rented apartments, i.e. it was waste land. The new building complex restores the compartmented structure which existed in the block before the War - the architect has designed building units which are apparently separate when seen from the outside. Inside the block, buildings have also been constructed on the pattern of the old structure. However, all the individual houses can be linked on the inside so that it is possible, depending on the requirements of the users, to combine several of them. A large proportion of the use consists of commercial and office units, only one building inside the block is purely designed for residential purposes. On the aesthetic level, the development works on the principle of similarity, with six different facade designs which alternate in a certain rhythm on the sides facing the four streets. The repetition of strong colors at intervals and similar facade structures underline both the differences and the coherence of the individual buildings within the one overall architectural concept." -- Kieren, M. (1998). Neue Architektur, Berlin 1990-2000. Berlin: Jovis. p.85 This image was taken in 2001 by John P. Schooley, FAIA, during the 'Berlin: Building the New City' tour. This tour was planned for architects and planners so that they could see first-hand how this once-divided city emerged from the Cold War to become a leading commercial and cultural center in Europe. Keywords: Germany, Berlin, facade, Quartier Schützenstrasse, Aldo-Rossi-Bau, Schützenstrasse, Charlottenstrasse, Markgrafenstrasse. Submitted by John P. Schooley, FAIA.

---