publication (accessible PDF, 4 MB)

Constructing sustainability
The Berlin Office of the Federal Ministry for the Environment,
Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety
Contents
Imprint
Published by
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB)
Public Relations Division • 11055 Berlin • Germany
Email: [email protected] • Internet: www.bmub.bund.de/english
Text
Journalistenbüro Ecoscript, Falk Jaeger
Edited by
Kerstin Brümmer, Frank Cremer, Horst Grothues, Jürgen Schulz, Reinhold Weigand (BMUB)
Technical editing
Federal Agency for Construction and Regional Policy (BBR)
Design
KONZEPTREICH Medienstrategien GmbH, Munich
Graphics: Sabine Mascolo, Munich
Printed by
Körner Premium GmbH, Sindelfingen
Published
November 2014
First Print
5.000 copies
Where to order this publication
Publikationsversand der Bundesregierung
Postfach 48 10 09 • 18132 Rostock • Germany
Tel.: +49 30 / 18 272 272 1 • Fax: +49 30 / 18 10 272 272 1
Email: [email protected]
Internet: www.bmub.bund.de/en/service/publications
Note
This publication is part of the public relations work of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and
Nuclear Safety. It is distributed free of charge and is not intended for sale. Printed on recycled paper.
Foreword
5
The project
6
New office on historic site
Facts and figures
Environment and energy
10
A sustainable model building
Constructing a passive building – the great challenge • Monitoring: from theory to practice •
Sustainable energy management: Heat, light and air • Part of the concept: intelligent-user behaviour •
Life-cycle assessments: using the right building materials • Finds of black adhesive and waste oil •
Comfort thanks to walls of clay
Interview with Uwe Römmling; Federal Energy Officer: “We couldn’t simply turn the building around”
History
24
The old government quarter
The Reichstag – massive splendour • From Hitler’s balcony to the new Reich Chancellery: The Nazi state moves in •
Dust and ashes – great wartime damage • GDR Government uses surviving buildings •
The Federal Government in the old government quarter
Moving fate of a building
The Kaiser criticizes the architect • Open-house building • Initial conversion work and wartime damage •
In the no-man’s-land of the divided city
Architecture
32
Exciting interplay of old and new
Historical horizons of building site • Art vagabonds in no-man’s-land • Competition between architects •
The winning design • The visitors’ centre • Two covered courtyards create new space •
Preservation of monuments: interpretation and original • The historic hall
Interview with the architect, Jürgen Pleuser: “The building is unmistakable”
Art in architecture
Curtain up for shape and colour
43
Dear reader,
in 2011, the Federal Ministry
for the Environment, Nature
Conservation, Building and
Nuclear Safety (BMUB)
moved into its new Berlin
Office in Stresemannstrasse, right beside Potsdamer Platz. This building is
remarkable in many respects:
we are the first federal
authority to work in a lowenergy, passive building – in
the very centre of Berlin.
The special challenge was to extend the old building, which
had once served as the Prussian Ministry of Agriculture, while
implementing exemplary green concepts in a historical context, at the same time meeting the highest standards of design,
functionality and cost effectiveness. This resulted in a model
project for modern architecture – in other words, an environmentally sustainable and innovative building.
Today, what began as a progressive project primarily from
the point of view of environmental protection and climate
change, has a dual significance: since the end of 2013, the
BMUB has been responsible for the building sector as well
12
as the environ-ment. However, for many years previously,
the ministry’s Berlin Office was a pilot project for intelligent
linking of environmental and building policy, thereby setting
a precedent for the ministry’s current responsibilities.
And there is another way in which the building characterises the work of the ministry: the old building, painstakingly
restored and refurbished, represents an architectural integration of recent German history. It presents parts of the
Berlin Wall, and brings together old and new in a dual sense:
environmentally aware, while preserving the existing building fabric.
My thanks go to all those who have been involved in the
planning and implementation of this project. This brochure
guides you through the old and new parts of the Stresemannstrasse complex – a building with a special history in the very
centre of Berlin.
Dr. Barbara Hendricks
Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation,
Building and Nuclear Safety
Foreword
5
New office
on historic site
The vibrant area around Potsdamer Platz and Leipziger Platz,
which has become the centre of the new and old capital city
of Berlin, now has an added attraction. In June 2011, the
then Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation
and Nuclear Safety (BMU), now the Federal Ministry for the
Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear
Safety (BMUB), took up residence in its new Berlin Office on
Stresemannstrasse. On this prominent site, which reflects
more than 100 years of turbulent German history, a unique
ensemble has taken shape: a ministry building consisting of
the historic monument of the former Prussian Ministry of
Agriculture and a new building of environmentally ambitious
character. The architectural concept includes parts of the
Berlin Wall, which remain permanently preserved as a witness to our recent history – both a memorial and as a symbol
of the peaceful new beginning.
of Parliament and parts of the Federal Government in 1999,
the Environment Ministry remained one of the few ministries without premises of its own.
The new building in Stresemannstrasse eased the situation
there. In view of the new scope of the ministry since the end
of 2013 and the increased number of staff, additional buildings in Köthener Strasse and Krausenstrasse were used. The
central location near Potsdamer Platz means short distances
from the Berlin offices to Parliament, Bundesrat, other ministries and numerous representative offices of the Länder.
The move to Stresemannstrasse gave the Federal Environment Ministry a building of its own in Berlin for the first
time. Since it was established in 1986, the ministry has had
a long history of provisional solutions. In Bonn, the staff
were at times scattered among a dozen different buildings
until they moved into the former Post Ministry on Robert
Schuman Platz in 2002. Even in Berlin, following the move
A century earlier: Potsdamer Platz in 1919,
seen from the north. Behind Leipziger Platz
(photo left) is present-day Stresemannstrasse,
formerly Königgrätzer Strasse (see map, page 24)
12
Combining history with ambitious environmental objectives: the Federal Ministry
for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety
The project
7
Facts and figures
The initial situation: old building with Wall
fragment in Stresemannstrasse (2005)
Building project: Stresemannstrasse 128-130
Owner: Federal Republic of Germany: Federal Ministry of Transport,
Building and Urban Development (now Federal Ministry for the
Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety);
Federal Agency for Construction and Regional Policy
Architects: Jürgen Pleuser, Enno Maass, Almut Geier
Change of ownership
The new office building in Stresemannstrasse was originally
planned for the Federal Ministry of Health. Following restructuring within the Federal Government and the merger of the
Ministry of Health with parts of the Ministry of Labour and
Social Affairs in the autumn of 2002, the Federal Environment
Ministry (BMUB), occupying inadequate rented accommodation
on Alexanderplatz, emerged as the ideal user. The decision about
the change of ownership in Stresemannstrasse was taken just in
time – the panel of judges for the architectural design competition was still meeting. This enabled the BMUB to embark on an
attractive project. The old building underwent full environmental refurbishment and the new six-storey building in the heart
of Berlin was the first ministry office building to be constructed
to passive-house standards.
The six-year construction phase was, in keeping with the history
of the site, full of excitement. The green light was given in 2005,
after architects Jürgen Pleuser, Enno Maass and Almut Geier had
won the competition in 2002. Their design promised to create
an ideal synthesis of old and new – the historic combined with
impressive contemporary architecture. A major obstacle was
soon encountered in the shape of a massive wartime bunker of
reinforced concrete several metres thick that had to be removed –
without affecting the existing building.
8
The project
View of the Wall remains
Remains of the Wall also bore witness in stone to the history of
the site. Until reunification, the building stood in the middle of
the border strip, as a lone witness to the pre-war urban development. During the construction work, the remains of the Wall
were carefully removed, temporarily stored, and almost all of
them later integrated into the new building on the original site.
This meant that the general public had a clear view of – and
access to – the concrete segments with their colourful post-reunification paintings. The segments form part of the ministry’s
information and exhibition rooms – and are easily seen, even
from a distance, through the expansive glass front.
Architectural improvements were also made to the existing building. The sloping roof destroyed during the war was replaced,
and the impressive decorative elements in the interior were painstakingly restored. As a result, the new Berlin Office is not only a
model of green building, but also an organism that lives and breathes
history – an attractive urban element in the city’s new centre.
Size of site: 5,389 square metres
Floor area: 16,630 square metres
Principal useful area: 8,483 square metres
Workplaces: 305
Competition: September 2002
Start of construction: May 2005
Occupied: June 2011
Completion: Autumn 2011
Construction costsy: 67.4 million EUR
Environmental technology and sustainability concept: Dr. Uwe Römmling
Support, structure planning: Wetzel & von Seht, Hamburg/Berlin
Project steering: Arcadis, Darmstadt
Building services engineering: Hyder Consulting, Berlin; GT-Plan, Berlin
Lighting planning: Licht Kunst Licht, Bonn/Berlin
Constructional physics, fire safety: Müller-BBM, Berlin
Internal acoustics: Hans-Peter Tennhardt, Berlin
Subsoil assessment: GuD Consult, Berlin
Building survey: Rek, Schwenk, Partner, Berlin
Blower-door measurements: Dr. Manfred Flohrer, Berlin
Passive-house certificate: ZEBAU – Zentrum für Energie, Bauen,
Architektur und Umwelt, Hamburg
Structural engineers: Zoega, Berlin
Environmental architectural consultation: Gesellschaft für
ökologische Bautechnik, Berlin
The urban context: model with Stresemannstrasse in the foreground
Performance specifications: Berliner Energieagentur
(Berlin Energy Agency)
Awards: European Architecture Prize Energy + Architecture (2012);
BDA Prize Berlin, Public Award (2012)
The project
9
View of the east front: the triple-glazed windows have oak frames, fully in
keeping with the historical model while meeting the demands of sustainability
Performance specifications
The 40-page specifications focus on the life-cycle assessment
of the building, its cost and the well-being of its users. The
recommendations relate to efficient use of energy and matematerials used – “Preference is basically to be given to renewable
resources.” The recommendations also give advice on construcconstruction – “When planning storey heights, care should be taken not
to take premature decisions about synthetic resin coatings and
seals in underground car parks, basements or sanitary facilities.”
A sustainable model building
The requirements for the construction of the new building
for the Federal Environment Ministry (BMUB) on Stresemannstrasse were very ambitious, right from the start. The
new Berlin Office was to set not only an example of energy
management and resource consumption, but also for environmentally-friendly building materials and emissions, lighting,
water and wastewater. At the same time, it was to provide
the ministry personnel with healthy and comfortable office
accommodation. An important basis for the planners was
the Federal Government’s “Sustainable Building” guide to
holistic planning.
The top watchdogs for energy-saving construction were
the Federal Government’s long-serving Energy Officer,
Uwe Römmling, and his successor, Olaf Böttcher. After the
move to Berlin as the capital, Römmling demanded uniform
Many recommendations are easy to put into practice or have
already become architectural standards – “The layout of the
building is to be organised to allow central supply and wastewastewater lines over short distances.” Others, however, are less easy
to implement – “When awarding building contracts, perforperformance comparisons should take priority over cost comparisons.”
But the environmental objective must always be balanced
with engineering and economic considerations. For example,
it would have been ideal to use insulating material made from
renewable raw materials, but commonly used rock wool was
chosen in view of its better durability, fire safety properties and
much lower costs.
requirements for all federal buildings. Architects and planners
now have to stay in line with his key parameters for energy
consumption, heating and cooling systems.
For the Federal Environment Ministry, however, the bar has now
been set very much higher – a much more stringent target specification was drawn up with directives and recommendations
going far beyond the usual standards for government buildings.
These performance specifications, laying down targeted requirements ranging from building ecology and internal acoustics to
workplace quality, became the constant companion of planners,
architects and workmen (see info box).
Environment and energy 11
Monitoring: from theory to practice
Creating a passive building –
the great challenge
One particularly ambitious goal was to achieve passive-house
standards for the new part of the building. This limits heating
requirements to 15 kilowatt-hours, the equivalent of one and
a half litres of heating oil per square metre per year. For
comparison – in existing buildings, this figure is often more
than 150 kilowatt-hours or ten times the amount. In a passive house, total annual requirements of primary energy for
heating, hot water, ventilation and all electricity applications
together must not exceed 120 kilowatt-hours per square metre.
In this case, the figure was to be as low as 100 kilowatt-hours.
Great priority was placed on preventing air leaks.
The aim of achieving passive-house standards proved to be a
very ambitious challenge because in a tight, shady city centre
like Berlin, it is impossible to achieve the solar heat input that
one normally hopes for in passive houses. This made it all the
more necessary to pay attention to other factors, especially
good thermal insulation, airtightness and needs-oriented ventilation with highly efficient heat recovery. Great efforts were
also made to minimise power requirements – e.g. for lighting,
ventilation and office technology.
Ceiling panel office heating: in a passive building, this helps
to save energy and ensure a comfortable interior climate
12 Environment and energy
Buildings of passive-house type are certified by experts to
confirm that the targets have been met. A complex evaluation
procedure of this kind was also adopted for the Federal Environment Ministry’s new Berlin Office. The reward for all these
efforts was the “quality-tested passive house” certificate issued for the new building in late 2010 by Hamburg-based ZEBAU
(Zentrum für Energie, Bauen, Architektur und Umwelt GmbH).
They examined the planning and construction of the building
and the performance data for energy demand and air quality –
values that are initially theoretical, but which have to prove their
worth later in everyday operation.
Monitoring during the first few years of operation will show
whether the figures are actually achieved. To this end, the building is equipped with an extensive measuring system that not
only makes use of control parameters from the building services systems, but also uses sensors of its own. Some 350 points
measure temperature, humidity, volumetric flow rates and electricity consumption. Power, heating and refrigeration circuits,
switching commands and control statuses are kept under permanent observation.
The measurements are analysed in a monitoring program so
that the systems can be modified later as necessary. Monitoring
analysis of consumption has only been possible since 2013.
The analysis runs until 2015, at which point the project
will be completed.
Environment and energy 13
Sustainable energy management:
heat, light and air
Innovative approaches to supplying energy and heat to the new
Federal Environment Ministry were adopted and a whole range
of modern environmental technologies implemented – fuelcell and photovoltaic systems, district heating and cooling from
combined heat and power generation, as well as wastewaterheat recovery. The neighbouring energy centre for Potsdamer
Platz was an obvious source of energy for heating and refrigeration and it proved to be more sensible and sustainable to use
this centre’s capacity rather than to build a separate combined
heat and power plant.
In addition to the targeted passive house standards, the performance specification listed the following targets:
economic and efficient use of energy while ensuring a
healthy and comfortable office climate
pleasant lighting making extensive use of daylight
no hot water in offices and wash-rooms
normally no mechanised refrigeration
power consumption not to exceed 25 kilowatt-hours
per square metre per year
heating energy requirements in existing building to be
reduced by at least 60 per cent
In particular, reducing the heating requirements for the old
building proved to be a very ambitious target in the refurbishment process. A whole bundle of measures were used to achieve
this. First, there was the installation of compact thermal insulation on previously uninsulated outside walls. The main front
on Stresemannstrasse caused a few headaches because the aim
was to preserve its historical appearance as far as possible, but
a 6-centimetre layer of rock-wool insulation underneath the
external rendering eventually provided the solution.
In the interests of historical monument preservation, no additional thermal insulation was allowed to be applied to the rear
exterior walls, which were largely in their original condition.
Special internal calcium silicate insulating panels were used here
that prevent the formation of condensation which frequently
occurs with internal insulation. And last but by no means least,
the roof was extensively insulated with a 20-centimetre layer of
rock-wool insulation and for the green roof section, with at least
30 centimetres of expanded polystyrene.
In addition to the thermal insulation, triple-glazing filled with
high-grade noble gas minimises heat losses through the oakframed windows. Their design kept the specialists busy testing
and experimenting, as there was no suitable product on the
market at that time. To increase their operating lifetime and
durability, solid wood window frames are now fitted, which is
by no means standard practice.
Self-produced solar power: the building’s own photovoltaic system supplies climate-friendly electricity
14 Environment and energy
Environment and energy 15
Photovoltaic system and solar cell
Sustainable modern energy technologies are also used for
energy production. To some extent, they have been installed
for demonstration purposes. On the roof of the Federal
Environment and Building Ministry (BMUB) is a photovoltaic
system, although there was only limited room for it on the
two strips each side of the glass roof. The canteen kitchen is
supplied by a small fuel cell that provides a constant supply
with an electrical output of one kilowatt and a thermal output
of 2.2 kilowatts.
The Federal Environment and Building Ministry also believes
in sustainable mobility and as well as providing electric vehicles
with their own green-power charging station, bicycles are also
available for short errands in the city.
Attractive canopy: the roof over the northern courtyard saves energy and creates new space
A step into the underworld: heat from wastewater
Green coat
Biology in the city – the Federal Environment Ministry’s new
Berlin Office was given a green coat. Some 1,360 square metres
of the new building’s roof were covered with a small, but
ecologically function-filled habitat for butterflies and small
insects. The good old stonecrop (Latin sedum), a robust
succulent that can survive intensive solar radiation and long
dry periods, was chosen as the main roof plant. Green roofs
not only form small botanical oases, but also absorb noise,
bind particulates, filter the air and provide an extra protective
layer of insulation. What is more, they also store rainwater
and are good for city dwellers’ souls.
Robust plants: succulents growing on the roof of the new building
16 Environment and energy
Some 44 kilowatts are supplied by an innovative heat-exchanger
system that reaches into the sewer under Stresemannstrasse
(see photo on page 21). From the wastewater there, it extracts
heat that would otherwise be lost. This is a technically demanding process that needs heat exchangers made of material that
stands up to the aggressive chemical environment while not
obstructing the flow. It goes without saying that not very many
buildings in a street can tap this source of energy.
Covered courtyards save energy
A major contribution to energy saving was made by reducing
the size of the building’s envelope by turning the courtyard into
a covered atrium. The atrium can be heated by an under-floor
heating system if needed, e.g. for special events, but in normal
everyday operation, it provides an effective climate buffer. Fresh
air is supplied by an air duct routed via the underground car
park ramp; the exhaust air is discharged via the roof.
The north courtyard created between the old and new buildings
was also roofed over. Since it is associated with open aisles that
need an air temperature of at least 15 degrees even in the cold
months of the year, the planners and architects had to come up
with bright ideas. They now use the north courtyard to ventilate the building – fresh air is fed under pressure into the new
building’s offices that are equipped with ceiling mounted heating/cooling systems. This air escapes into the courtyard via the
corridors and is extracted at roof level. Effective heat exchangers
recover energy from the extracted air.
Continued on page 21
Environment and energy 17
“We couldn’t simply turn the building around”
Uwe Römmling, the Federal Government’s long-serving Energy Officer, has this
to say about the ambitious environmental concept of the new BMUB building
A Federal Environment Minister’s ministry
building should be an example of the use
of energy, resources and building materials.
Have you achieved that in Stresemannstrasse?
Römmling: I’m quite sure of it. We wanted
to build a model house, and if you look at
the result and see the whole project from
a holistic environmental point of view, it
really is an exemplary building – both the
old and the new parts.
passive house in a city-centre location really
is a complicated task. We were in the middle
of the planning phase when other buildings
went up around us and we realised that we
had a problem with too much shade: the
building would not get as much sunshine as
we wanted. The alignment of the building
was distinctly sub-optimal too. Instead of
the desired south-facing position, we had
a building that faced north – we couldn’t
simply turn the building around!
What were the biggest problems you had
to deal with?
The new building meets the standards for a
passive energy house – and building such a
And the existing building?
That wasn’t easy either. The historic
monument authorities had imposed strict
conditions, particularly regarding the main
The environmental watchdog: Uwe Römmling
front. We met with a few surprises inside
the building as well – for example, we had
to get rid of an old bunker, which meant
a lot of work clearing away the reinforced
concrete by hand.
As an experienced energy expert, you are
constantly stressing that the motivation
of the owner, the architect and everyone
else concerned is crucial to the success of
a project.
You need a firm commitment on the part
of the owner. There must be no capitulation
if costs increase or deadlines cannot be
met. Environmental concerns must prevail
but can too often fall by the wayside.
Underground surprises: when excavating for the foundations of the new building, the workers had to remove soil contaminated with waste oil (see page 23)
18 Environment and energy
Shade problems: high-rise buildings reduce
the amount of incoming solar energy
Environment and energy 19
Continued from page 17
Part of the concept:
intelligent-user behaviour
How airtight is the building? Experts use the blowerdoor test to measure air exchange and leaks
In this case, the owner remained firm. The
target was clear from the start and very
ambitious. The owners not only stated the
energy level they wanted to achieve, but
also specified verification methods.
A monitoring system is installed for
this purpose, to measure power consumption, temperatures and other parameters
during the first year of operation. Why
go to all this trouble?
Our experience with other buildings has
shown that in practice not everything
works as well as planned. Technical systems do not work perfectly and occupants
and users do not behave as expected.
What’s more, you have to get to know the
building better – that’s what monitoring
is about. Demanding an ambitious energy
level on paper is one thing – but putting it
into practice is the real challenge.
In the Stresemannstrasse project, were
you able to make use of experience
from other green buildings, for example
the new Federal Environment Agency
building?
Yes, we definitely benefited from such
experience, but the Stresemannstrasse
building went much further. Until then,
20 Environment and energy
we had not reached passive house standards in any federal building. The Federal
Environment Agency is a low-energy
building that uses 30 kilowatt-hours for
heating. It consumes about three litres
of heating oil per square metre per year.
The figure for the Federal Environment
Ministry is 15 kilowatt-hours. The power
consumption of the Stresemannstrasse
building is much lower, too.
What about the cost? Will the building’s
environmental concept pay off?
Quite definitely, yes. You only have to
think of rising energy prices. Of course,
with such a showcase building, we have
to show the Federal Court of Audit and
the Federal Ministry of Finance that our
solutions are cost effective. The problem
here is that many of the positive effects
of the building are difficult to express
in euros and cents. Climate, health and
safety, resource conservation, pollution
reduction – we have done good things
in all these fields.
The old building is heated by conventional radiators and has natural
ventilation via the windows without any additional technical systems.
The only exceptions are the minister’s air-conditioned rooms and the
large roof-level meeting room, which needs a higher rate of air change.
To limit heat loss through open windows, the ministry’s employees
are called upon to show environmentally aware behaviour. Individual
ventilation is indispensable, however, because the natural air change
due to leaks only replaces about one tenth of the air per hour, whereas
the required rate is at least three times that figure. Installing controlled
automatic ventilation in the old building would have been unreasonably expensive, especially since the spaces and shafts for the air ducts were
not available.
Life-cycle assessment:
using the right building materials
A good energy balance is not the only thing a “sustainable” building
needs. Building materials also play a crucial role. How people-friendly
and eco-friendly are they, and how much energy was needed to produce them? How great is their climate damage potential? Are they easy
to dispose of?
These days, life-cycle assessment is a major task, because it needs to
determine and weigh up the relative benefits of an increasing number
of material properties. As standards and guidelines develop, construction practices are constantly being adapted to the new findings. It has
long been the case that expert planners are needed to provide supporting advice for engineers and workmen. The lists of products drawn up
by architects are approved by the GföB (Gesellschaft für ökologische
Bautechnik), now known as Arcadis.
Energy from wastewater: a heat exchanger recovers waste heat
from the combined sewer running below Stresemannstrasse
Environment and energy 21
Black adhesive and waste oil
The environmental refurbishment of the old building brought
a number of surprises to light. It goes without saying that the
demolition rubble had to be inspected before disposal as building waste. When a suspicious black adhesive was found under the old flooring screed, it proved necessary to remove the
old screed entirely and dispose of it appropriately.
The example of the wall surfaces illustrates how building
work can take on a dynamic development of its own. In the
interests of historic monument preservation, and also for financial reasons, the aim was to preserve the internal plasterwork as far as possible. However, once the new windows were
installed, it turned out to be impossible to join up the plaster
surfaces. Not only did this make it necessary to completely
re-plaster the interior surfaces of the outside wall, but it also
proved impossible to join up these surfaces to the crumbling
plaster of the other walls. As a result, the other walls were
plastered as well, followed by the ceilings. A similar situation
confronted the workers in the corridors, where first the
walls and then the vaulting had to be renewed. Chipping
off the plaster revealed structural damage that also had to
be repaired.
All surfaces in the new and old buildings were treated with
eco-friendly plaster and paints. Conflicting objectives emerged
here, for example, regarding the paint to be used for the exterior front. In many respects, the desired eco-friendly waterbased paints do not match the performance of solvent-based
paints, so the latter were used in this external situation because of their superior resistance to weather conditions.
Preserving the fabric: nothing is more sustainable than eco-friendly preservation of what
already exists. The German word “bleibt” indicates that the wall should remain standing
22 Environment and energy
The new building had a few surprises in store as well. During
excavation work for the foundations, the workers found con-
Creating a comfortable indoor climate: clay walls
siderable contamination of the soil due to oil and lubricants
from the lift shaft of the former Fürstenhof Hotel. The water
authorities were aware that pollutants were circulating in the
district’s groundwater, but they did not know their origin or
cause. Because the contaminated soil made it necessary to
dig deeper than planned, the plans were revised and the new
building was given two basement levels instead of one.
Clay walls for comfort
Although the new building now went ahead as planned and
without problems, the installation of the clay walls presented
new challenges. Clay is a natural building material that creates
a particularly pleasant indoor climate, but it is still rarely used.
The most recent standards date from 1935.
In most cases, clay walls are built on a wooden frame like plasterboard partitions or, as in Stresemannstrasse, with the usual metal
rack, but the first panels started crumbling as they were screwed
into place – the problem was finally solved by using jute inserts.
Applying the wet clay plaster as a two- to three-centimetre layer
was by no means a routine procedure, but finally the battle was
won. Ultimately, above all the environmental and energy benefits of the building, there is one thing that counts – the people
working there must feel good.
Environment and energy 23
The old government quarter
“In den Ministergärten” (“In the Ministerial Gardens”) is the
name of the street in Berlin’s new centre that is now the home
of seven representative offices of the Länder (states). The name
dates back to the magnificent palace built on Wilhelmstrasse
in the 18th century that housed the ministries of the state of
Prussia and later those of the Empire, the Weimar Republic
and the Nazi dictatorship. Its generous gardens extended as far
as the zoological gardens.
Initially, this was the residence of Prussian nobles and prominent members of the military hierarchy, then the quarter
developed into the power centre of the Prussian state. Along
Wilhelmstrasse, Leipziger Strasse and Unter den Linden, the
institutions of the Prussian state ran like a string of pearls –
from the Foreign, Justice and War Ministries to the Ministry
of Cultural Affairs. The ensemble also included the Prussian
Ministry of Agriculture, Domains and Forestry that stood on
Leipziger Platz. The rear part of this office building on presentday Stresemannstrasse has now been converted and extended
to create the Berlin Office of the Federal Environment and
Building Ministry.
Potsdamer Platz around 1900: urban life in the centre of the new metropolis
The old government quarter: this map, dating from 1906,
shows in red the great concentration of public buildings
in the region of Wilhelmstrasse and Potsdamer Platz
History 25
The Reichstag –
massive splendour
After 1871, the Prussian government quarter became the
centre of power of the German Reich, which set out to demonstrate continuity by establishing its institutions at the
heart of the former Prussian state. As early as 1872, the Reich
Chancellery took shape in Wilhelmstrasse and ten years later,
the architect and university lecturer Paul Wallot, designed
the Reichstag – a colossal solution of great magnificence in
keeping with the euphoria of the time. The other authorities
From “Führer balcony” to new Reich Chancellery –
the Nazi state takes up residence
remained clustered around Wilhelmstrasse and Leipziger Strasse.
Where representative buildings were concerned, the German
Reich saw itself competing with Paris. Initially taking the early
Florentine renaissance period as a model, officials later turned to
the Italian High Renaissance and finally arrived at “Wilhelminismus”, which left nothing to be desired in terms of opulence and
Baroque monumentality.
During the Nazi period, Hitler and his architect Albert Speer
planned an outsize government centre extending from the
Spreebogen to Tempelhof Airport. But first of all, Hitler demonstrated his presence in the established quarter to the west
of Friedrichstadt. Speer extended the Reich Chancellery and
gave it a “Führer balcony”. For the 1936 Olympic Games, the
Wilhelmplatz below the balcony was used for parading.
On the north side of Wilhelmplatz, the Reich Ministry of
Public Enlightenment and Propaganda with its grey stone
front became the office of Joseph Goebbels. Finally, in 1937–38,
Speer implemented Hitler’s ideas for a new Reich Chancellery on Vossstrasse, integrating the Chancellor’s office and
the Palais Borsig on Wilhelmplatz. This colossal building
was more than 400 metres long, an architectural statement
of National Socialist power.
Monumental impact: outraged by the modern steel dome of the Reichstag, Kaiser Wilhelm II never set foot in the building
26 History
Stresemannstrasse in 1939: on the left, the Hotel Fürstenhof; behind it,
the former Prussian Ministry of Agriculture, and on the right, with the
dome, the entertainment centre “Haus Vaterland”
Dust and ashes –
major wartime losses
GDR government uses surviving buildings
By this time, the government quarter around Wilhelmstrasse
had reached its maximum concentration and density, but little
of this density survived the wartime bombing. Large areas of the
western part of Friedrichstadt in particular were destroyed and
all that was left of nearly all the ministries was dust and ashes.
With few exceptions, the entire historic area to the west of Wilhelmstrasse between Pariser Platz and Leipziger Platz was wiped
out. In later years, the GDR used areas of the old government
quarter for the Berlin Wall, border fortifications and to build
prefab multi-storey residential blocks.
Owing to the loss of buildings during the war, the govern ment authorities of the GDR were spread over the entire
city centre. The few buildings on Wilhelmstrasse that were
spared by the bombs continued to be used. For example,
the surviving Prussian Ministry of Cultural Affairs was
also used for this purpose. The building of the former Nazi
Ministry of Propaganda was used in GDR times by the
Ministry of Media Policy and the Reich Ministry of Aviation
became the “House of the Ministries”, the centre of government power.
History 27
The Federal Government in
the old government quarter
Today, after an interim period as the seat of the Treuhand
Agency, the Detlev Rohwedder building is used by the Federal
Ministry of Finance. Two more Federal Government ministries are also to be found in this district today – the Federal
Ministry of Food and Agriculture moved into the refurbished
building at Wilhelmstrasse 54 while the Federal Ministry
of Labour and Social Affairs is based in the former Reich
Ministry of Propaganda in Wilhelmstrasse. The Ministry for
the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear
Safety is now established on Stresemannstrasse as another
federal ministry in the former government quarter. Its neighbours are the Bundesrat, the Berlin Chamber of Deputies and
the representative offices of the federal states.
Moving fate
of a building
The turbulent changes that the government quarter experienced in more than a century did not stop at the doors
of the ministry’s building on Stresemannstrasse. Prussia’s
Ministry of Agriculture had also long been suffering from an
acute shortage of space. In the old office on Leipziger Platz,
the “corridors were narrow and often dark, and the offices
inadequate” and “the condition of the building was so poor
that maintenance costs were high”, according to the periodical “Zeitschrift für Bauwesen”.
28 History
Front view: the old Prussian Ministry
of Agriculture (1936)
This intolerable situation finally prompted the Minister of
Finance to promise an extension on Königgrätzer Strasse – as
Stresemannstrasse was known at that time. It was not until
1929 that the street was named after Gustav Stresemann,
the former Chancellor of the Weimar Republic. In 1935, the
National Socialists renamed it Saarlandstrasse, and from 1948
onwards, it was again called Stresemannstrasse.
Kaiser criticises architect
In 1902, work started on the new Prussian building on
present-day Stresemannstrasse, but owing to budgetary problems, the first brick was not laid until a full ten years later
in the summer of 1913. Kaiser Wilhelm II was well known
for exerting influence on the design of public buildings,
demanding to see the drawings and frequently wielding a pen
himself. “Very ugly” was the Kaiser’s damning verdict on the
architecture in this case. As a result, architect von Salzwedel
was posted to Potsdam and the task of planning was assigned
to senior planning surveyor Hans Grube, who had already
designed the new opera house to the Kaiser’s satisfaction.
On the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, construction
was in full swing. After various delays, the building came into
service in September 1916 and the last of the shops on the
ground floor was let in October 1917. In the end, the front
was seamlessly integrated into the street with the neighbouring Hotel Fürstenhof, without asserting any special presence
to the ministry building.
History 29
An open house
In the no-man’s-land of the divided city
Compared with present-day ministries and their strict security measures, the offices of those days were open houses. For
example, the ministry building had its own perfectly normal
entrance – only a grating separated the open vestibule from
the street; the staircase foyer was reached via a porch and a
small vestibule. The main staircase of almost baroque proportions boasted finely profiled ceilings, binding beams and sturdy
pillars.
In the divided city of Berlin, the building suddenly found itself in
the border strip. Like most other buildings that had to come down
to ensure a clear line of fire, the neighbouring buildings were
removed. From this time on, the former ministry stood on its own
in the no-man’s-land as a lone witness to the pre-war buildings.
After the founding of the GDR: headquarters of the Consumer Cooperatives
The floor plan shows an efficient modern row of offices. The
courtyard was full of greenery and was kept free of delivery
traffic. Deliveries were made via the side yard adjoining the
Hotel Fürstenhof.
Four upper storeys were almost completely filled by 190 offices.
There were two small meeting rooms on the third floor; the
main conference room was in the transverse building at the
rear of the site. The attic housed a laundry with ironing room
and a drying room for the ministry’s laundry and there was a
roof terrace “for dusting off files”. Even though the entrance
and staircase radiated a certain solemnity and grandeur, they
did not compare with the magnificence of Berlin’s palatial
courts of law. According to an engineer’s report dating from
1948, the building was worth some 2.1 million reichsmark.
First conversion projects
and wartime destruction
One of the first structural alterations to Stresemannstrasse
128 was the installation of marble floors in the lobby and the
representative entrance hall in the thirties. Various pillars were
removed for better access.
30 History
The erection of the Berlin Wall in Stresemannstrasse gave rise
to a curious situation, because the front of the building became
part of the Wall. The windows were therefore bricked up and the
main entrance closed; the new entrance was now on the east
side. Two watchtowers were installed on the roof to provide a
strategic view of the border fortifications.
Following reunification, the building underwent a first refurbishment in 1991; a shallow gable was placed on the centre of
the transverse building. It was in this form that the architects
found it when they set about planning the conversion work for
the Federal Environment Ministry.
In the forties, the biggest intervention was the construction of
an air-raid shelter on the ground floor. The massive concrete
structure, three metres high, allowed no more than a very low
corridor for access.
The wartime damage was relatively light. A bomb strike destroyed three rows of windows in the front of the building; the
external walls and corridor ceilings were damaged, and a mortar
strike destroyed the conference room in the transverse building.
However, cracks were caused by mortar and bomb fragments,
vibration and shock waves. Plaster fell off the walls, all window
panes were broken, doors damaged and the roof stripped off.
Three years of wind and weather continued the process of destruction, while thieves removed parts of the electrical installation.
In 1948, the Association of German Consumer Cooperatives
took on the task of refurbishing the building with a view to
using it as their administrative headquarters. The large roof
structure was replaced by a flat concrete roof covered with roofing felt. Refurbishing the façades also resulted in serious losses
– the natural stone was chipped off down to the wall footing.
The façades were surfaced with a plain scratchwork plaster.
Five years before its fall: the Berlin Wall – behind it on the left, is the old Stresemannstrasse building with the Hinterland Wall
History 31
Historic meets modern: a vertical gap separates the old
and new fronts of the Federal Environment Ministry
Compact composition: overall view from Stresemannstrasse
Exciting interplay of old and new
The new office building of the Federal Environment and Building Ministry in Berlin was to live up to all public expectations
by meeting outstandingly high sustainability standards. However, the attractive location on Potsdamer Platz, the fringe of
Berlin’s lively new centre, also presented an architectural challenge. The task was to integrate the building of the ministry
in the urban context and observe the rules of typical Berlin
architecture – building right up to the edge of the available
site area; an eaves height of 22 metres and a stone façade with
recessed windows (“grid façade”).
The old building was typical of Berlin’s architectural tradition.
The new building not only observed these rules, but gave them
an impressive interpretation – for example, in the rhythmic
window pattern of the new entrance hall. Although the new
building is unmistakably modern, together with the striking
old building, it forms an exciting combination that fits harmoniously into the city setting. As a result, the new building –
despite the restraint appropriate to a ministry building – can
make its presence felt in the context of major international
architecture.
Architecture 33
Historical horizons of the building site
What this location experienced during the 20th century was
the typical fate of Berlin – splendour, glamour, destruction,
decline, neglect and, in the intervening periods, a range of
uses. The old Wilhelminian Ministry of Agriculture with its
neo-renaissance front, vertically sectioned decorative classical
elements and avant-corps (risalits) represented the city and
metropolitan flair. On the ground floor, with the large granite
blocks, the shallow-vaulted openings created space for shops.
The area between the bustling Anhalt station and the entertainment centre “Haus Vaterland” near Potsdamer Platz was
full of vibrant city life. The Second World War and the partition of Berlin seemed to have destroyed this for ever. In the
end, the building became derelict as part of the Wall in the
middle of no-man’s-land.
Art vagabonds in no-man’s-land
This no-man’s-land along the Wall border strip also determined the character of the urban area of southern Friedrichstadt, in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg. The barren waste of
an inner-city fringe area still dominates Stresemannstrasse
today, despite the brilliant setting of the new Potsdamer Platz.
The expectation with regard to a new building for the Federal
Environment Ministry was that this part of the city would
regain its metropolitan look.
The Berlin Wall fragment in 2005: integrated
in the building and accessible to the public
34 Architecture
The fall of the Wall, when the no-man’s-land began to turn
into city again, marked the beginning of a spectacular, but largely forgotten interlude. Directly after reunification, the open
no-man’s-land attracted action artists from all over the world.
They called themselves art vagabonds and lived in small tent
cities. In the late 1990s, artists painted the remains of the Wall
Bird’s-eye view of the ensemble: the loggia as a triangular entrance hall provides an impressive view of Potsdamer Platz
to protect them from demolition. The brightly sprayed Wall
fragment preserved in the new building is a reminder of this.
Architects’ design contest
Following the decision on 20 June 1991 to make Berlin the
capital city, the search began for suitable locations for
parliament and government. One of the available sites was
Stresemannstrasse 128-130. An architects’ design contest
was announced – with clear requirements – on the one hand,
observance of the Berlin urban development plan and on the
other, the integration of two protected objects – namely the
former Ministry of Agriculture and the Wall fragment painted
with various designs. This fragment of the Wall was to remain
accessible for people to experience in the entrance area, but
without “going over the top” from a design point of view.
Altogether, 125 teams of architects took part.
Architecture 35
outside the security area and is freely accessible. Here is the
information point and a small lecture theatre.
View of inner courtyard: the historical façades were largely preserved
The winning design
The panel of judges met in October 2002 , chaired by architect
Professor Rebecca Chestnutt. The first prize of 25,000 EUR went
to Jürgen Pleuser, Enno Maass and Almut Geier from Berlin.
The award-winning design was a clear candidate from the
outset because it brought together an exciting ensemble – Wall
fragment and old and new buildings – creating a stimulating
dialogue between past and present, and also the internal and
external structure. Speaking of an “interaction of fragments”,
architect Jürgen Pleuser recalls the historical discontinuities that
are characteristic of this site. The historic appearance of the old
building is restored with its sloping roof and the rounded dormers. The historic building not only regains its inner structure,
but also has a dominant overall impact.
The old building is clearly separated from the new building
by a glazed vertical gap. On the corner facing Potsdamer Platz
and along Erna-Berger-Strasse, it stands out clearly in presentday architectural language as an office building in its own
right. The fragment of the Berlin Wall at this point can be seen
in a separate, building-high exhibition room, glazed on the
street side.
Two covered courtyards create new space
The service entrance with vehicle security is also accommodated
in the new building. Official cars enter the building from
Erna-Berger-Strasse and leave in the direction of Gartenhof.
With its striking glass roof, the north courtyard, created by
building along the edge of the site between the old and new
buildings, has similar interior functions to the large courtyard
of the old building.
The visitors’ centre
The outside walls of the new building are of yellowish concrete
blocks reminiscent of sandstone. The grouping of the tall, narrow rectangular windows does not follow any set pattern. This
is a characteristic of present-day architecture that will make it
possible to date the building in the future. An open loggia on the
top floor at the corner of the building provides a magnificent
view of Potsdamer Platz.
The ground floor once again houses public functions. On
the left, next to the exhibition room in the new building, a
canteen welcomes guests. To the right of the main portal,
which is now used once again as the main entrance to the
ensemble, the ministry’s visitors’ centre opens its doors
Despite all security requirements, the character of this government building is not unfriendly. Immediately adjacent to the
lively Potsdamer Platz, the architect has succeeded in creating a
building that is as open as possible in the ground-floor zone that
faces the city and integrates the ministry into the life of Berlin.
Continued on page 40
36 Architecture
“The building is unmistakable”
Architect Jürgen Pleuser talks about the history and surroundings
of Potsdamer Platz and the task of bring old and new together
Mr Pleuser, what was the biggest challenge of this project apart from the
environmental standards?
Pleuser: It consisted in composing a
coherent, functioning whole from a large
number of old and new structural elements. First there was the old building,
a historic monument that had to be restored stone by stone and the new
building, certified as a passive house. The
fragments of the Berlin Wall also had to be
included, not to mention the new rooflevel storey with numerous offices. And
last, but not least, two large halls of very
different architectural character that were
created by covering the open courtyards
with a glass roof.
Is this integration a harmonious success?
The various elements form an exciting, intertwined ensemble. A particularly striking
feature is the enriching change of scale
from small offices, the individual offices
for the staff of more than 300, and the
building-high, open-plan rooms bathed
in light that act as points of reference –
making, in architectural terms, an unusual
spatial quality inside the building.
Guided tour with guests: Architect Jürgen
Pleuser leads a guided tour of the building
during the construction work
How important do you consider the
history behind the old building?
Right from the start, I have vigorously supported the Federal Environment Ministry’s
aim of demonstrating here in an exemplary
fashion how you can make sparing use of
resources and energy. This basic attitude
leads directly to considering how to rescue
as much as possible of the fabric of the old
building. What could be more sustainable
than re-using existing material by making
cautious repairs? The scale and materiality
of the old building were also an important
starting point for designing the elements
of the new building. For example, the ge-
Roofed over from the gable:
the rear of the old building
Interview 37
nerous ceiling heights and room sizes by
present-day standards, the wide corridors,
and the open staircases of the old building
set the scale for the new building.
Presumably the wartime damage was
also a challenge?
Only makeshift repairs had been made to
the destruction in the old building after
the war. The main front, in particular with
its large sills and pilasters and the sandstone base, were severely damaged. Style
elements of this kind, which recalled Wilhelminian times and Prussian dominance,
were ideologically undesirable in the
GDR. They therefore decided to sand the
entire front and prevent its restoration
for ever by inserting new windows in the
façade. We got to grips with the results
and decided to document the “undecoration” and make it into a design feature
of the main front. Where there were
once broken-off sandstone elements, we
created recesses in the rendering of the
façade.
expect that from technically sound architecture. Another remarkable feature
is the interaction between existing and
newly added elements and the contribution this makes to the ensemble.
You can see this, for example, in the remains of the Hinterland Wall standing
on the middle of the site. One might
regard the remains as an obstacle to
a sensible design of the new building,
but this very conflict gave rise to an
idea that influenced the character of
the ensemble, namely to “give the Wall
space”.
What is your attitude to the representative character of government
buildings?
This building makes a restrained contribution to the cityscape, without making a great fuss, but there are enough
architectural clues as to its special
standing as a public building. It is
unmistakable and symbolic and in the
future, its appearance will stand
for the ministry and its mission.
Was your design influenced by the city
setting and its historic background?
It goes without saying that the ensemble
of buildings respects the urban framework and is in keeping with the scale
of the surrounding buildings – you can
Modern architecture:
the playful façade
38 Interview
Creating space: the “bridge” between the old
and new building above the Wall fragment
Architecture 39
Continued from page 36
Historic decorative elements: reconstructed double pillars with Ionic capitals in the entrance hall
Preservation of historic monuments: interpretation and original
It was clear from the start that the historic monument authorities would have no problems with Jürgen Pleuser’s design. On the
other hand, nobody wanted to simply turn back the clock and
conjure up an unchanged version of the building from imperial
times. It was necessary to take account of the historical development – from the original Wilhelminian structure of the Prussian
Ministry of Agriculture right up to the interventions during GDR
times.
The architect and the historic monument authorities were agreed
that structural elements and details of the original period should
be preserved and that the new building should be in line with
the character of the old building. Original elements most closely
40 Architecture
approaching the original condition were found in the courtyard
façades and in the rear wings of the building. The historic lines of
the roof were also restored.
The external cladding of the main front had to be completely renewed, which raised the question of which period the new surface
should reflect. The possibility of restoring the original façade of
1919, which had been destroyed in 1951, was rejected on principle and also for financial reasons. But as a tribute to history,
the former structure of the quarry blocks was reproduced in the
new rendering as a negative relief in the same colour, with a slight
shade effect that recall former features, such as the pilasters on
the outside wall.
Artistically wrought: staircase railings
Architecture 41
The charm of the old: view of the historic staircase
Curtain up
for shape and colour
The historic hall
Inside some parts of the building, there are historic design
elements that have been painstakingly renovated and restored. This begins in the small vestibule with the stucco vaulting. In the adjoining large hall, the historic appearance has
been largely recaptured. Ionic double columns, classic door
portals and the stucco ceiling were restored, damage repaired
and missing elements added. The new lighting incorporated
in the coffered ceiling creates an almost festive look. The two
main staircases and two of the ancillary staircases with their
artistic wrought-iron railings were also restored in line with
historic monument preservation criteria.
Venerable rounded arch: reconstruction of the original vault shape
The staircases and corridors regained their old vaulted form.
The jambs of the office doors throughout the building, originally of artificial stone, were restored by stonemasons. None
of the wall and floor surfaces were in their original state, so
their look was tailored to their historic appearance. As
a result, the interior of the building can once again be
experienced as a highly attractive cultural monument.
42 Architecture
The public sector has a special cultural responsibility for its
buildings. This includes “art in architecture”, which is an
integral part of the owner’s construction task and responsibility. As part of an art concept for the Federal Environment
Ministry’s new Berlin Office, two “Art in Architecture”
competitions and a “Young Art” buying campaign were held.
The foyer on the fifth floor of the old building, a room
60-metres long and bathed in light under the steep sloping
roof, is one of the sites designated for a work of art. This
location was selected because it forms the approach to
the large meeting room where the ministry’s most important meetings are held. The wall leading to this meeting
room was to be designed by participating artists. This competition was won by Düsseldorf artist Katharina Grosse
with a 140-square-metre mural, sprayed in several layers.
It creates a storm of colours sweeping across the wall
(see pages 44-45).
Art in architecture 43
Creating space: with her mural (left and right), art
professor Katharina Grosse won the competition
for the foyer below the roof of the old building
The well-known artist and professor of painting, whose
works have been shown in numerous exhibitions at home
and abroad, writes this of her design – “Parts of the doors are
integrated in the work. On the one hand, this strengthens the
connection between architecture and painting, while on the
other, it enables the visitor to experience the painting as a
surrounding phenomenon. Visitors’ impressions of the picture, architecture, space and their own movement through
the corridor blend into a single experience.”
There is no point from which the work of art can be seen
in its entirety. The view of the work varies with the visitor’s
changing perspective, as new angles are constantly created by
their starting point and direction. Art historian Katja Blomberg regards Grosse’s mural as a walk-in work of art, “which
is dominated by variations in colour temperature and where
transitions and contours are indefinite and offer multiple
perspectives”. This frenzy of colour “thus goes beyond the
two-dimensional and could also be interpreted as a landscape
space or even an acoustic phenomenon”.
The competition for the second site in the covered north
courtyard of the building was won by internationally renowned
Antony Gormley from London. He proposed suspending a
cloud-like structure of metal polyhedra at half height in
the air space of the courtyard, the shape of which would be
44
created by a threefold-enlarged plaster impression of a human
body. The panel’s verdict was that the work of art “subtly suggests
the integration of mankind in wider contexts”. Unfortunately
static considerations made it impossible to realise the structure,
which would have been more than seven metres long.
The third part of the art concept was a buying campaign
for “Young Art” to provide works of art for the walls, corridors and meeting rooms of the new building. For many years
now, the Federal Environment Ministry has supported gifted
young artists making the transition from education to working life. By acquiring works made in master-student and
degree courses, the ministry’s art commission has gradually
built up a collection of contemporary art. For the new Berlin
Office, the aim was to select works by artists who had completed their studies not more than five years previously.
The public competition met with a great response: 417 entries met the formal requirements. They included graduates
from almost all the German art schools and academies. Works
were submitted by master students of well-known artists.
After intensive discussions, the selection panel chose 57
works for purchase from 36 artists. The spectrum of artistic
techniques ranged from photography, oil and acrylic painting, drawing, lithography and screen printing to material
collages and other combined techniques.
Art in architecture 45
The “Young Art” works of
Ariane Faller and Mateusz Budasz
Picture credits
Also purchased and presented in the
new building: the “Young Art” works
of Birgit Klerch (“Little Escapes”, left),
Nina Hohberger (“Halle/Carl-RobertStrasse”, below right) and Moritz Frei
(“Untitled”, excerpt, page 43)
46 Art in architecture
Cover: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 4: BMUB, Jürgen Schulz / p. 5: Federal Government / Sandra Steins / p. 6: BMUB, Florian Profitlich /
p. 7: bpk, Luftbild Berlin GmbH / p. 8: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 9: Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung Berlin, Inge Johanna Bergner /
p. 10: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 12–13: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 15: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 16: BMUB, Florian Profitlich /
p. 17: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 18: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 19: BMUB, Florian Profitlich (both) / p. 20: BMUB, Florian Profitlich /
p. 21: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 22: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 23: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 24: Landesarchiv Berlin, Cartographic Department /
p. 25: Ullstein Bild, Roger Viollet / p. 26: akg Images / p. 27: Ullstein Bild, Sobotta / p. 28–29: Landesarchiv Berlin / p. 30 Zentralkonsum eG /
p. 31: Ullstein Bild, Sobotta / p. 32: BBR, Ursula Böhmer / p. 33: Jürgen Pleuser / p. 34: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 35: BBR, Ursula Böhmer /
p. 36: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 37: BMUB, Florian Profitlich (both) / p. 38: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 39: BBR, Ursula Böhmer /
p. 40: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 41: BMUB, Florian Profitlich / p. 42: BMUB, Florian Profitlich (both) / p. 43: BBR, Moritz Frei /
p. 44: BBR, Ursula Böhmer / p. 45: BBR, Ursula Böhmer (left); BMUB, Florian Profitlich (right) / p. 46: BBR, Birgit Klerch (left);
Ariane Faller & Mateusz Budasz (above right); BBR, Nina Hohberger (below right);
Strip at bottom of all pages: Jürgen Pleuser
www.bmub.bund.de/english