Archinect - News

Berlin lists communist-era towers of Alexanderplatz as historical monuments; Gehry high-rise still happening

2015-07-15T17:07:00-04:00

Berlin has just said “yes” to Communist-era blocks and “no” to more new skyscrapers. On Monday, the city announced that it was listing some key Communist-era structures in Alexanderplatz, East Berlin’s central square, as historical monuments. It is an irremovable nail in the coffin of a 22-year-old plan to demolish the square and replace it with a “little Manhattan”—a set of 10 new 150-meter high towers.

"Alexanderplatz won’t stay entirely unchanged. Two new towers will still be built, one of them a twisting number from Frank Gehry."

Previously:

Berlin's Alexanderplatz high-rise developments continue to take shape

2015-04-21T14:22:00-04:00

Yet as Berlin’s property values continue to soar - rising faster than any German city over the past five years - residential developers are set to challenge the Park Inn’s elevation supremacy. Two international builders have unveiled plans to erect skyscrapers at Alexanderplatz that will stand nearly 500-feet high[...] Though the new designs have triggered intense public reaction for their girth and ambition, they are being joined by more than 20 new residential properties in the planning[...].

Previously: Berlin hopes Germany's tallest residential tower has the 'Bilbao effect'

Editor's Picks #353

2014-02-05T14:37:00-05:00

For the latest edition of Working out of the Box, Archinect talked with Miguel McKelvey, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer at WeWork. He just so happened to study architecture at University of Oregon with Paul Petrunia, Archinect's founder!

Mr. McKelvey explains "I have applied what I learned in architecture to pretty much every aspect of building a business - and for the right person, I would make the argument that architecture is a better preparation for being an entrepreneur than business school is".

Meanwhile edition #6 of Screen/Print an experiment in translation across media, highlights MONU's 19th issue, Greater Urbanism.

News

Archinect contributors / Parsons MArch students Ayesha Ghosh and Alex Stewart attended a panel discussion regarding MoMA expansion and Folk Museum demolition. The event was hosted jointly by the Architectural League, the Municipal Art Society, and the AIA's New York chapter and everyone in the audience missed the State of the Union address.

Ayesha and Alex...

Berlin hopes Germany's tallest residential tower has the 'Bilbao effect'

2014-01-28T14:38:00-05:00

The tallest residential block in Germany is to rise up next to Berlin's needle-like TV tower by 2017. Designed by the US architect Frank Gehry and paid for by US real estate firm Hines, the 150-metre (492ft) building on Alexanderplatz will have 39 floors, with about 300 apartments, restaurants, a hotel and a spa. [...] Nonetheless, the city senate's building director, Regula Lüscher, welcomed the plans for "an extremely striking new landmark".