Treptowers

Treptowers
General information
Status Complete
Location Treptow, Berlin
Coordinates 52°29′43″N 13°27′40″E / 52.4953°N 13.4611°E / 52.4953; 13.4611Coordinates: 52°29′43″N 13°27′40″E / 52.4953°N 13.4611°E / 52.4953; 13.4611
Opening 1998
Height
Roof 125.00 m (410.10 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 32

The Treptowers is a complex of buildings with a distinctive high-rise in the Alt-Treptow district of Berlin, Germany. Completed in 1998, the complex is located on the Spree River. The name "Treptowers" is a portmanteau word from Treptow and the English word "tower."

Genesis and architecture

The Treptowers complex consists of four buildings and is the result of an architectural competition held in 1993 and won by the architect Gerhard Spangenberg. The detailed planning and building was carried out by a partnership of architects Schweger and Reichel + Stauth from Brunswick. Roland Ernst joined Urban GmbH & Co. as project developer and overseer of construction. The final construction cost totaled 500 million euros.

The buildings were constructed on the site of a former electrical appliance factory complex, which was built in 1926 by AEG. After World War II, the plant was expropriated by VEB Elektro-Apparate-Werke Berlin-Treptow, a state-owned company in the German Democratic Republic, and production continued until 1995.

The buildings have a square floor plan with a steel and glass facade, though portions of each building have stone facades to create a unified architectural look with neighboring buildings. At 125 meters, Treptowers is the tallest office building in Berlin and the same height as the Park Inn. It represents a significant city landmark, situated where the Elsenbrücke bridge crosses the Spree River.

The largest tower is a prominent feature on the Berlin skyline. At night, the Covenant sign on the roof is visible from a great distance in all directions. The sign's neon letters were originally 15 meters tall, but had to be replaced by an 8 meter sign due to interference with air traffic.

The 30 meter high sculpture Molecule Man by Jonathan Borofsky sits in front of Treptowers in the River Spree. The sculpture's three figures represent the three Berlin districts of Treptow, Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. Treptowers also houses a permanent exhibition of 500 works by contemporary artists.

The Federal Criminal Police Office has a branch inside the building.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Treptowers.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.