Potsdamer Platz

Potsdamer Platz was a central hub of Berlin nightlife in the 1920’s and 1930’s, but was heavily damaged during WWII. It was further destroyed in 1961 as the area straddled East and West Berlin, and any remaining buildings were leveled to build the wall and the no-man’s land. Beginning in the 1990’s, the Potsdamer Platz area became the biggest construction site in Europe as new buildings and plazas were constructed. Today it is once again a central area of Berlin. What really appeals to me about the place is how well designed it is: it is a great example of mixed-use planning where there is a combination of residential, commercial, restaurants, entertainment, and transportation facilities all intermingled. Further, there’s a great interplay between private and public space. The Sony Center, for example is both public in that it is unbounded and allows free movement and public activity, yet it is private in that it is somewhat confined and contains private industry – restaurants, cinemas, and business offices. This interplay is, I think, representative of the best of urban design. In the rest of the Platz, I like that they have reserved some space for a grassy park, as well as for a man-made lake – areas that surely could have been quite profitable had another commercial building been built. Some Pictures:






The roof of the Sony Center during the day, and then lit up at night: