Plattenbau - Rehabilitation & Community

Location: Berlin
Building Area: 176,000 Sf
Client: IIT - Professor Eva Kultermann

History
The Plattenbau is a housing type that is built from mechanically fastened precast concrete slabs. The construction style was pioneered in pre-World War I US and The Netherlands but spread throughout East Germany and the Eastern Bloc after World War II due to the urgent need for housing.

The Plattenbau evolved throughout the decades spawning many variations and became an incredibly prominent building type. The most common are the P2 and WBS70 which are both nine story residential buildings that are frequently grouped together in long corridors or large clusters. The Plattenbau were originally seen as desirable because they were modern, and represented the new ideals of the country.

Present
By the end of the Soviet era the buildings had lost much of their appeal as the buildings were not well maintained and had not kept pace with modern innovation. The buildings had come to represent an era that was controversial and with many people moving to the west with reunification, the buildings saw increasing vacancy. The Plattenbau began to be demolished to make way for all too often very similar replacements - even though they were structurally sound. This is a huge waste of material and embodied energy.

Future
This project addresses the reality of constant social change. The building is modified and expanded to fit today’s needs while not wasting the embodied energy in the original structure and remaining flexible for the future.