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LXXIV . Berlin, Germany



Berlin, Germany

|Berlin, Germany|William Peterson|

Berlin in preserving its historical development, has relatively limited high-rise buildings. Taller residential and commercial buildings are concentrated in specific districts, such as Alexanderplatz and parts of the western city, while much of Berlin remains defined by five- to six-story perimeter blocks. The historic perimeter block limits the heights and keeps a fine grain resolution and porous street edge to block-wide developments. 

Assignment 1| Measuring Urban Density|Berlin, Germany
Berlin is the capital city, as well as, a state of Germany and the country’s largest city by population. The Spree River flows through the center of the city and historically shaped Berlin’s political and cultural core, as postwar development and reunification saw the river as a division that commercial and administrative functions crossed. Administratively, Berlin is divided into 12 bezirke, each of which is further subdivided into ortsteile.


Berlin:
Urban Population:  3,900,000 people
Metro Area Population: 6,200,000 people
Urban Area: 892 sqkm
Population Density: 4,227 people per square mile.

Freidrichswerder:
Population Density: Approx. 49,815.44 people per square mile
 

Politics:
Berlin is govered by the Senate, the House of Representative, and the Governer’s office. The leader of the city government, the Governing Mayor of Berlin, is elected by the House of Representatives following state elections and serves as both mayor and minister-president of the city-state. Since Berlin functions as a municipality and a state, its government holds more responsibilities than other German cities, including oversight of public education, policing, correctional institutions, cultural institutions, social services, urban planning, and major infrastructure. The Senate is composed of 10 Senators, each responsible for a specific policy portfolio, with administrative functions distributed across centralized Senate departments and the city’s twelve borough administrations.


Berlin’s contemporary urban form was profoundly shaped by twentieth-century conflict and political division. Following extensive destruction during World War II and the subsequent division of the city during the Cold War, large areas of Berlin were rebuilt under differing ideological and planning frameworks. The construction of the Berlin Wall created fragmented urban zones and residual spaces, many of which were later infilled or redeveloped after reunification in 1990.
In the decades following reunification, former industrial sites, rail yards, and underutilized parcels—particularly near the city center—were redeveloped with mid-rise residential and commercial buildings. These areas typically exhibit high site coverage, strong street walls, and limited private open space, relying instead on public parks, courtyards, and streets as primary communal environments.
Unlike many global cities, Berlin has relatively limited high-rise development. Taller residential and commercial buildings are concentrated in specific districts, such as Alexanderplatz and parts of the western city, while much of Berlin remains defined by five- to six-story perimeter blocks. This produces a condition of moderate physical density but high perceived urban intensity due to continuous street edges, mixed uses, and active ground floors.


Berlin, Germany : High-Density Building Typologies

Typologies:
Blockrandbebauung (Block-Edge)
These multi-story, block-edge buildings with narrow courtyards were initially developed between: 1870–1918. These blocks form contiguous street frontages with rear wings and internal courtyards. This continues the street edge while having a less dense open courtyard interior.

Plattenbau High-Rises
Built primary in East Germany after the end of World War II. These buildings are towers that had factory made reinforced concrete panels, that were transported and installed on-site with a crane. This allowed rapid mass housing in the wake of allied bombing campaigns.

Baugruppen (Co-Housing Groups)
A development model that is resident-led, collectively developed multifamily housing project, that developed in response to speculation, affordabilitym, and institutional developer housing offerings. Often limits 4-7 storues and infills existing urban frameworks. Have active ground floors with shops, retails, and studios.

Historic Perimeter Block
Multifamily housing typologies from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, built to accommodate rapid urban growth during industrialization. Typically 4–6 stories in height, they form continuous street edges around deep parcels with internal courtyards, achieving high density through high site coverage rather than building height. Ground floors were often mixed-use


Berlin, Germany: Urban Void Typologies 


Small
Bomb Gaps
Vacant lots were formed after the cleaning and reformation of Berlin. Termed Bomb Gaps, these were vacant lots that resulted from the destruction of the bombing during
World War II.

Medium
Berlin Wall Memorial
The condition that was made by the imposition of the Berlin Wall is preserved as a monument documenting the division of Berlin, usin gthe urban void cutting across the
city.

Large
Park am Geisdreieck
A railway junction became a wasteland at the end of the Second World War. In the interim vegetation started to claim the abandoned railway. Park am Geisdreieck came to fruition as a proposal to connect the government corner and the Potsdamer Platz.

X-Large
Tempelhof Field
Beginning a Military Parade ground, and later developed into the Tempelhof Airport, the Tempelhof Park was demanded by the citizens who protested the Berlin Senate and its plan to reuse the airport for operations again. The Field repoened in 2010.

|Sources|


Assignment 2 | Case Study Berlin Neighborhoods|





|Sources|
Bavarian Quarter:
Bergmannkiez :
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

Assignment 3 | The Spatial Block|

Located in Friedrichswerder, the neighborhood that breaks with the conservative
perimeter block in Berlin, Germany. It presents a great opportunity for experimentation to
explore the possibilities that grow from the defi ning height and porous fabric of the city
that inhabitants look to preserve. The Spatial Block is an exploration of the perimeter block
and its independent development of the lots historically.
The need for higher density in the growing city centers has shown in Friedrichswerder, that
the development must have the same independence to maintain to porousity that the
perimeter block has. This ensures that the fl ow through the Spatial Block is free as well as it
does not break withthe scale of the historic fabric of Berlin in the face of new developments.
This proposal uses green space terracing to break the developments into smaller feeling
parts that come into a coherent whole instead of a monolithic development for one use, or
multiple uses on one footprint.
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Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning 2026 — Ann Arbor, US