Friedrichstadt House
The house Friedrichstadt is a Grade II listed office building and office building in the Friedrichstrasse 194-199 in Berlin district center of the district center . It was built in 1934–1935 based on a design by the architect Jürgen Bachmann . This was based less on the contemporary National Socialist architectural style than on the functionalist and late expressionist modern architecture of the 1920s.
Location and basic dimensions
The Friedrichstadt building occupies the entire western block front of Friedrichstrasse between Leipziger Strasse in the north and Krausenstrasse in the south. Some older commercial buildings were demolished to uncover the valuable parcels. Originally, a new Adam department store was to be built on the part of the building site on Leipziger Strasse . A design by the architect Heinrich Straumer , which probably dates back to 1931, was not carried out due to the consequences of the global economic crisis . The owner of the Bachmann building was Haus Friedrichstadt GmbH .
The Friedrichstadt house was built on a construction area of 1225 m². The front length on Friedrichstrasse is 78 m, the side length on Leipziger Strasse and Krausenstrasse each 20 m. The ground floor is 4.40 m high, all other floors are around 3.50 m high. The building is 20 m high.
architecture
The Friedrichstadt building has a single storey business floor as well as four upper floors and an attic floor for offices. The steel skeleton of the building was designed by the civil engineer Gerhard Mensch , who was also responsible for the construction of the load-bearing structural members of the extension of the Reichsbank and the Reich Aviation Ministry in Berlin in the 1930s . In accordance with the National Socialists' building specifications , the Friedrichstadt building was given a reinforced concrete roof structure that was supposed to be bombproof. In addition, the basement was expanded as an air raid shelter .
The load-bearing steel skeleton is traced on the strictly symmetrical facade. The dominant horizontal structure of the elongated building with 26 axes on Friedrichstraße is made by rows of windows and parapets . It is crossed by the protruding stairways on the side facades and stone templates that refer to the underlying steel pillars. To the rectangular facade panels, resulting from this superimposition of horizontal and vertical lines should be originally illuminated signs are attached.
A four-axis central wing on Friedrichstrasse is highlighted, where the templates are stronger and rise continuously to the attic floor. The slightly protruding office floors compared to the business premises on the ground floor rest on consoles. The row of wide windows on the first floor is continuous, the rows of windows on the following floors are interrupted at the corner of the side facades. The traditional hipped roof creates a contrast to the modern appearance of the building, which , however, is hardly visible from the surrounding streets due to the recessed attic storey.
Inside the building, the entrance hall and stairwells are kept simple, but clad with noble materials such as red marble. Ceiling ornaments with abstract lines in the Art Deco style have been preserved . The differently sized offices are located along central corridors.
History and use
After damage in the Second World War , the building was restored in a slightly modified form around 1950. A renovation took place in the years 1993 to 1994, whereby the interior of the building was changed significantly. In 1999 the Friedrichstadt building was extensively renovated.
During the GDR era, the Friedrichstadt building ended the development of Friedrichstrasse on the East Berlin side. The Checkpoint Charlie border crossing was immediately to the south . At the time, the Friedrichstadt building was home to the Stadtmitte café, among other things .
In 2009, the building's commercial and office space was mainly rented to banks and real estate companies.
literature
- Friedrichstadt House, Friedrichstrasse 194–199. In: Landesdenkmalamt Berlin (Ed.): Monuments in Berlin. Mitte district. Mitte district . (= Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany ) Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2003, ISBN 3-935590-80-6 , pp. 378-380.
- Friedrichstadt House. In: Matthias Donath: Architecture in Berlin 1933–1945. A city guide. Lukas-Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-936872-26-0 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Architects and Engineers Association Berlin (Ed.): Industrial buildings. Office buildings. (= Berlin and its buildings , part IX.) Ernst & Sohn, Berlin a. a. 1971, ISBN 3-433-00553-2 , p. 206.
Coordinates: 52 ° 30 ′ 35.59 " N , 13 ° 23 ′ 23.13" E