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Berlin - Pt. 1 - Modern Architecture

R

ronald1987

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From friday to monday, I went on a short city trip to Berlin.

Berlin has been known to be the city with the most construction activities in Europe. After the wall came down, planners faced the task to reunite the east with the west.

Potsdamer Platz became the focus of their attention, as a large, attractive location which had suddenly become available in the center of a major European city. It was widely seen as one of the hottest, most exciting building sites in Europe, and subject to much debate amongst architects and planners. The city government chose to divide the area into four parts, each to be sold to a commercial investor, which then planned new construction. During the building-phase the Potsdamer Platz was the largest building site in Europe.

Approaching Potsdamer Platz
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The largest of these four parts went to Daimler-Benz, now part of Daimler-Chrysler, who charged Renzo Piano with creating a master plan for the new construction. The individual buildings were then built by many individual architects according to that plan. This includes the remarkable Potsdamer Platz No. 1 by Hans Kollhoff, now home to a number of prestigious law firms.

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View of the realized masterplan from a panorama terrace on top of Potsdamer Platz No. 1
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Potsdamer Platz No. 1 (left)
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The second largest part went to Sony, which erected its new European headquarters there. The new Sony Center by Helmut Jahn, an impressive, yet light monolith of glass and steel is considered by many to be one of the finest pieces of modern architecture in Berlin.

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Some aireal views of the area, these shots were taken from the panorama terrace on top of Potsdamer Platz No. 1.
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But there's more modern architecture in Berlin than just Potsdamer Platz.

The new Lehrter Bahnhof, of which I will post more pics in part two of this series, about urban transportation in Berlin.
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Modern buildings pop up everywhere in Berlin. This next shot was taken close to the Museum Island, along the river Spree.
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The Academy of Art, situated close to the Brandenburger Gate, at the Parisiener Platz.
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How it's integrated with an adjacent building.
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The next shots feature government offices and facilities near the Reichstag.
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The 4th article of the German constitution, about freedom of religion.
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Modern shopping center/ offices near U-bahn station "Zoologischer Garten"

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Near Alexanderplatz, in the former eastern section of Berlin.

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Lastly, a shot of modern developments along the Spree, with the Fernsehturn in the background.
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Lastly, here are some panoramas I made.

Galleries Lafayette, an upscale indoor shopping centre.


The Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz.


Government offices along the river Spree.


Hope you enjoyed, see you in part 2!
 
Beautiful. Its a shame they are light years ahead of us when it comes to cladding buildings.
 
Ronald, again thank you for a good set of pictures. I enjoy views of cities I have never visited. Interesting to see the Sony Centre in particular, which does appear very impressive, combining the monolithic and the "light" as you say. Also interesting to see that they have an Imax theatre (Imax is a Toronto-based company).

I'm always glad to see examples of good integration of old buildings and new (Academy of Art). I think we are just beginning to get a real appreciation of that here.

Jayomatic: I have to agree that other cities do certain things better, with cladding on certain buildings being an example. For instance, I wonder why we can't make better use of brick on larger buildings in Toronto, given that we live near one of the brick-making capitals of the world. :\
 
Excellent pics... my home away from home! Keem them coming Ronald!
 
In addition to the cladding, it's worth commenting on how the buildings are arranged in the first couple of pics... nicely packed together creating a streetwall. Why do we insist on puting huge spaces between our buildings?
 

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