City Ring Berlin

Berlin aims high

High-rise buildings are increasingly being promoted as a way of keeping pace with Berlin’s dynamic growth, despite the lack of a coherent concept of where tower buildings can work and where they are best avoided.

Finding the right location for new high-rises requires a holistic urban planning concept based on clear and enduring principles. The long-term success of high-rise construction, moreover, depends on the implementation of sustainable mobility concepts with a strong emphasis on public transport.

While the areas around Breitscheidplatz or Berlin Hauptbahnhof may appear ideal for high-rise buildings, a closer look reveals the problems the construction of new tower blocks in these locations would entail for a city already choked with traffic. The intersections between Berlin’s local train system and the main traffic arteries offer much better chances for new centres of development with new towers in a new cityscape.

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