Potsdamer Platz

There are quite a few things in Potsdam Platz that make reference to the past. These are just a few of them:

1) Marlene Dietrich Platz – Marlene Dietrich was a German actress born in Berlin. She is said to have been the first German actress to really make it Hollywood. Born in 1901, she started her German film career in 1921 with the film So sind die Männer. Eventually in 1930 she moved to the US on contract with Paramount Studios. Before the war, Marlene was asked by the Nazis to return to Germany, she however had always been strongly opposed to Nazi ideology so declined. In 1939 she became a US citizen and used her talents to raise money for the war. In fact, she was rewarded an American Medal of Freedom for her war work. Although she never returned to Berlin to live, she did visit and was buried there in 1992. She was made an honorary citizen of Berlin on May 16, 2002.

2) Two S-Bahn Towers – Designed by Schinkel, originally it was there as a gate into the city of Postdam,. However, it was severely damaged during WWII and was completely torn down in 1961 when the Berlin Wall was built.  As a means of honoring Schinkel’s original gate, two identical S-Bahn tower-like entrances were built where the gate stood.

3) Weinhaus Huth - The only surviving original pre World War II building left in Potsdamer Platz. It was built in 1912 originally housing the capital's best wine merchant on the lowest level, and a luxury restaurant above. Since 1998 it has been home again to a restaurant expect this time on the main floor, with the Daimler Contemporary gallery now above it. The outside of the building has clearly been restored and maintained over the years, as it doesn’t look run down. However, the buildings surrounding it give away its age.

4) Berlin Wall – Pieces of the wall are visible in two places in Potsdamer Platz, running along the cobblestone line there to show where the city was divided 28 years ago. These are clearly there to make reference to the divided city that Berlin used to be and maybe even to the division that remains in some people’s minds. Strangely enough, on the one section, people have decided to cover the wall with gum… and it looks as gross as it sounds.

 

5) Old Traffic Light – This is a monument/replica of the first street light (although some debate this) in Europe. Although I am not entirely sure that it is still used, it is fully operational and pays homage to the busy downtown area that Potsdamer Platz once was and is on it was to being again.

Hauser, Evelyn. "Dietrich, Marlene." Contemporary Musicians. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 15, 2015). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3494300022.html

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/germany/berlin/sights/architecture/weinhaus-huth#ixzz3aJnztou7

Field Question-Berlin Marzahn v. Fairways West

 Field Question-Berlin Marzahn v. Fairways West

 May 13, 2015

             

           There are major differences between Berlin and Regina with respect to the design of suburbs. For example, Berlin Marzahn was designed very differently than Fairways West. According to Eli Rubin, Berlin Marzahn was “the largest of numerous settlement projects like it throughout the GDR” (2011, 29). This development had been planned to build the apartments as quickly as possible in order to eliminate the housing shortage in former East Berlin. The buildings were designed as identical concrete slabs and once built, housed 400,000 people in 150,000 apartments.  The development of this area was carefully planned by the German Architectural Academy and the city planning office of East Berlin. The design included wide, straight roads, streetcars, parks and playgrounds. This plan allowed the Eastern Berlin government to control their people in the same way as the retail stores, entertainment and living conditions were also controlled.

            Contrastingly, Fairways West was designed by Harvard Communities, a private company who offers the freedom of choice to civilians who may choose between a variety of houses built by 17 different home builders. Fairways West sub division was built near shopping, dining and entertainment destinations and advertises well maintained green spaces with professionally designed streetscapes. Fairways West allows residents to choose a house that fits their specific needs. 

            Berlin Marzahn and Fairways West differ in that Berlin Marzahn was designed and built by the government to control its residents whereas Fairways West was designed by a private company, built to promote freedom of choice and diversity and is located in a setting where most amenities already existed.

Berlin Marzahn                                                              Fairways West

   

  

Resources: 

Harvard Communities (2013). “Fairways West” [Online]

Available: http://harvardcommunities.ca/fairwayswest/

Rubin, E. (2011). “Concrete Utopia. Everyday Life and Socialism in Berlin-Marzahn” Socialist Architecture, 29-45.

May 13th Mini Task

Gentrification in Berlin!!

We explored two neighbourhoods today: one that is beginning to be affected by gentrification and one that is clearly already gentrified.  

The first neighbourhood we visited was in Friedrechshain. This area is beginning to be gentrified, but currently still houses a significant amount of alternative culture. For example, turning off of Revaler Straße we found a alternative space used for markets on the weekend. It was pretty neat, despite the strong smell of fresh urine.

Another obvious feature in this neighbourhood is the large amount of graffiti. Which in my opinion, can be nice and give a place character when it is well done. I noticed a ton of younger adults (student age) in this neighbourhood, many of which had some pretty funky style. One may say this neighbourhood was full of hipsters.

Of course, this neighbourhood also showed signs of gentrification. This is a picture of an apartment building in Boxhagener Platz. 

It's pretty easy to see here that part of this building has been recently renovated. Many of these fixed up apartment buildings were interspersed with those that were not yet showing signs of gentrification. Some of the shops I visited were also fairly pricey and one specifically sold expensive baby clothes. This combined with all the young kids at the park leads to believe the neighbourhood is not only full of hipsters, but young families. 
  We then traveled Northwest near to see a neighbourhood near Volkspark in Prenzlauerberg. This neighbourhood clearly had  brighter apartments in better condition, less graffiti and more cars parked on the street. It was also noted that nicer restaurants existed were pubs were previously located.

It was evident that gentrification is responsible for the pleasant looking buildings as many were currently being renovated (as shown below) and penthouses were added to many of the older apartment buildings. I also noted there were less hipsters and while in Friedrechshain I noticed some kids, it was far more evident in this neighbourhood. Stroller central! I was going to snap a photo of this, but it seemed a tad bit creepy. 

Development in Marzahn compared to Regina Suburbs

The creation and existence of the suburb of Berlin Marzahn is quite different to those newly built in Regina.  Marzahn was the result of an answer to a potential housing crisis in Berlin, but specifically the former East portion of the city.  In this time period, there was mass construction occurring resulting in more than 2.1 million apartments being built, taking up approximately 83% of all housing construction of East Germany (Rubin).  An extensive project such as this meant that a large portion of previous agricultural land would be transformed into a completely new environment.  Not only did the creation of Marzahn mean new housing units, but also new amenities and everything else required in a community was built as well, including high schools and health centres.

Health Centre in Marzahn

Typical apartment buildings in Marzahn

Much of this revitalization and creation of a new community varies quite differently from newly developed neighbourhoods in Regina; Harbour Landing is a primary example of this.  There is a similarity of short construction time given what has been built over the previous 5 to 10 years.  However, the sheer degree and intensity of development is quite different.  Not only that, but the inclusion of community resources such as schools is different from Harbour Landing as well.  Yes, there was an area that was specifically developed nearby to be for shopping purposes, but there is not enough resources for the area to sustain itself completely.

In terms of applying for residence in Harbour Landing, this area differs quite a bit from Marzahn as well.  In order to qualify for a chance to live in an apartment in Marzahn, one would basically be required to be a family with kids as the apartments were built with 3 to 4 rooms.  However, Harbour Landing offers a variety of housing options including townhouses or apartments as well, without specific family requirements, but more so dependent upon a good financial standing.

Overall, while both communities are similar in that development occurred relatively quickly, Marzahn occurred much faster and to a greater degree, but also had different admission requirements due to the socialist government at the time.


Source: Eli Rubin. "Concrete Utopia: Everyday Life and Socialism in Berlin-Marzahn” Bulletin of the German Historical Institute Supplement 7, 2011: East German Material Culture and the Power of Memory, 29-45.

Development of Suburbs in Berlin vs. Regina

Development of Suburbs in Berlin vs. Regina

The concept of suburban living between Regina and Berlin are two very different things. The idea of suburban livings within the city of Berlin revolves around large apartment complexes and nearby services with efficient public transportation. The area known as   Marzch in East Berlin is a prime example, with an S-bahn station, tram station and some small shops in the immediate area for the necessities of living, all within walking distance of the main concentration of residential buildings. The idea behind this area was to build affordable housing for the working class. These buildings were put up very quickly and designed to fit as many people into them as possible, particularly small families.

                When examining the development of suburban living in Regina, there are several similarities in that, lots are designed to be long and skinny as to fit as many houses as possible on one street, and these houses are typically meant to be aimed at young families. The houses are also put up very quickly. Through working on the development project in Regina known as the Greens on Gardiner, it is easily to see that the houses are slapped together over the course of one or months. And apartment or condos styled dwellings are no different. The crane comes in, trucks come in with what resembles giant lego blocks and the cranes stack them four stories high. 

The difference between these two areas is the amount of space needed to hold a certain sized population. Marzch originally had 150,000 people living in a very small amount of space. It takes the entire city of Regina to house that many people. And despite both Regina and Berlin having very unstable soils the large apartment buildings in Marzch seem to be withstanding the test of time very well, whereas the houses built in The Greens on Gardiner or Harbour Landing  can suffer from structural damage in as little as 2 years. 

Marzahn vs. Harbor Landing

It would appear that the Marzahn area of Berlin is very similar to the new development Harbour Landing in Regina in several ways. Those mainly being that there are green spaces such as parks, doctors and shopping all in the same area as the housing developments in both locations. However the focus of this field question is to identify the differences of these locations. To me there are a few that stand out right away. The first being that the housing in the Marzahn area is all high rise apartments that were fully furnished, ready to live in right away places. In Harbour Landing this is not so much the case. Here most of the housing is single houses or duplexes, that are not fully furnished and ready to live in unless you win a home lottery. There are also some condominium complexes as well, again not ready to live in.

Second, the Marzahn buildings were built in a short amount of time (90-120 days). In Harbour Landing this is not the same, here construction can take minimum 6 months to finish one home for one family. Definitely not as efficient as in Marzahn. A third difference would be that Marzahn has some schools in the close vicinity of the area that we visited, according to google maps there are 3 about 5 minutes walking distance from the market we saw. In Harbour Landing however, there are no schools in the new development area. Children would have to be bussed to the closest school. This is by no means the only differences between the two locations, this is simply the tip of the iceberg.

Berlin Marzahn vs. Suburban Regina

Berlin Marzahn and suburban developments in Regina are quite different even though their development is quite similar.  While they both were, in large part, entirely built up over a short period and have almost everything one needs (prompting people to not leave), they contain a two major ideological differences in the design and planning of the areas which change the entire way the areas are used by its inhabitants. 

First, the types of housing between the two areas are quite different, even though they are and were considered quite luxurious for their times.  Marzahn’s development is dense, tall apartment buildings, while Regina’s suburbs contain low density housing, like houses and small condominiums.  In part, this is due to the sheer demand for the housing; Marzahn was built because the demand was large and desperately required, whereas Regina’s growth is more tame and less demanding on the housing market.

Secondly, the areas themselves were designed with two different philosophies – car friendly and pedestrian friendly.  At least from the small portion of where we visited, cars were not necessary to travel in Marzahn as public transit was readily available in form of trams and buses.  Additionally, most services (e.g. grocery stores) were in the center of a ring of residences.  In contrast, many of Regina’s suburbs require a car to perform tasks like getting groceries, and transit services are quite limited for those who wish to go without a car.

While there are other, smaller differences between the two, they are caused by the two major factors discussed above.

In What Ways Has Alexanderplatz Changed Since 1990?

Since reunification in 1990, Alexanderplatz has been one of the most important locations in Berlin.  In addition to the large complex of S-, U- and regional train stations, it is also one of the most recognizable locations in the city to meet thanks to the towering TV Tower nearby and the World Clock located within.  While some other areas changed significantly after reunification, Alexanderplatz has undergone more of a gradual change.  The most significant changes to the area are with the public transport stations, having to be restored from the years of abandonment during the Wall.

On the surface, it is harder to tell that things have been changed.  This is due to buildings, both new and old, designed and restored to maintain the identity and designs of the past.  The most notable example is the Galeria Kaufhof whose design in both material and construction closely match the historic buildings next to it.  Buildings, new and old, both took on different occupants – fast food restaurants and other chain-stores are some of the most notable.  Additionally a cinema has moved back into the area adding to the continued life of the area.

May 12        

Berlin's Marzch VS. Regina's Harbour Landing

            Berlin Marzchn was built by the East Berlin Government to deal with the housing crisis (Rubin, 2011, p.29).  The large prefabricated buildings were highly sought after and, “built for socialism’s model citizens”, which included young families with children (Rubin, 2011, p.32). These apartments gave them much needed space for their families; space that most existing apartments at the time did not provide. Suburbs in North America, like Regina’s Harbour landing, are also in some ways an ideal place to live (depending on your preference) and popular among young families. But, these types suburbs are associated with urban sprawl and provide way more space (arguably an unnecessary amount) for families than the types of living units in Marzchn.  Neighbourhoods are comprised of many large unattached single-family houses resulting in low population density in these areas. On the other hand, Berlin Marzchn is a community built out of buildings that may comprise of 120 living units (Rubin, 2011, p. 30) making it a very densely populated area.

            Of course, one aspect that draws people to the suburb of Harbour landing is choice over what your home includes. When people purchase new homes in these communities they can decide which features they want; for example, if they feel they need a three-car garage they can get a house with a three-car garage. The tenants of the buildings of Marzchn obviously had no such choice as the neighbourhoods were completely planned out and people felt lucky just to get assigned an apartment. However, today we saw neighbourhoods were planned out in such a way that all necessary amenities were conveniently located and much is within walking distance.

         An interesting outcome of difference in population density in these two types of suburbs is the difference in viability in public transportation. It is nearly impossible to create an efficient public transit system in spread out North American Suburbs, you are pretty much forced to own a car. Even the closest stores are not really within walking distance to most homes and box store developments that you find in these areas are not very pedestrian friendly. However, the dense nature of communities in Berlin allows public transportation to be more efficient.

Both types of neighbourhoods include parks. Harbour Landing has an extensive walking path and pictured above is a park in Berlin Marzchn.

Sources:
Rubin, E. (2011). Concreate Utopia: Everyday life and socialism in Berlin-Marzchn. Bulletin of the German historical institute supplement, East German material culture and the power of memory, 29-45.