Media Spree – sink it?

The urban development area between Ostbahnhof and Oberbaumbrücke, with its unique location along the Spree and the longest remaining section of the Berlin Wall, the East Side Gallery, has been completed. Larger than the new Potsdamer Platz and built several years later, the mix of office, commercial, and residential buildings surrounding the private sports arena was heavily criticized for its purely commercial focus. The construction of the “Amazon Tower”—at over 140 meters, the tallest skyscraper within the S-Bahn ring—is also controversial due to its lack of architectural and urban planning quality. Planned at a time when investors were not yet lining up in Berlin, the district provides prime examples of (mis)planning in urban spaces. Nevertheless, there are also flagship projects to discover, such as UP! building, once a department store converted into an office building, or the new headquarters of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, both located at Ostbahnhof.

HIGHLIGHTS
UP! Berlin A GDR department store becomes a modern office building
Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung A landmark in a sea of real estate
East Side Gallery The longest remaining section of the Berlin Wally