HighOffice - Offices at Alexanderplatz

Berlin, Germany

Picture © Eike Becker

Architects: Eike Becker Architekten

Location: Alexanderplatz, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, Berlin, Germany
Year: 2005

An urban design competition was held in 1993 for the area surrounding Alexanderplatz and the blocks just to the northeast. The work of the Berlin architects Hans Kollhoff and Helga Timmermann was honored with the first prize. Their concept, now incorporated into the city development plan, foresees a combination and variation of blocks and towers for the entire area.

The assessment performed for the eastern German TLG Immobilien GmbH addresses the property along the ninety-degree intersection of the street behind Alexanderplatz and Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse, both highly frequented traffic axes. The two planned high-rises are situated on corners and, as stipulated by the development plan, have a height of some 150 meters.

Due to the substantial breadth of the street behind Alexanderplatz, a tower potentially could be a major landmark on the urban horizon. In this sense, their rather gentle forms, which diverge from the Kollhoff-Timmermann plan in the orthogonal curvature of their ground plan and elevation, could make a significant contribution to the urban landscape.