Expansion -Block-Expansion

Development of Potsdamer from the view of city context

 

 

 

 

Potsdamer Platz is a central point in Berlin with a long history and grand urban aspirations.

The main square and surrounding district were extensively re-developed from 1994 - 1998.

The development was one of Europe’s biggest urban construction projects and was planned

by a team of international architects under the leadership of Renzo Piano.

 

 

I am pretty impressed by the development of a Potsdamer Platz over two century.How this
area develops somehow represents the history of human activities .As a architect,our design

shape the interaction between people and surroundings. I am also very interested in the new

urban design of Postdamer Platz by Renzo,how it link the present with the history and how it
connects the city.

Potsdamer Platz is a microcosm of Berlin, its history reflecting the social forces affecting the

city over the past four centuries.This area was first defined in the 17th century when a new city

wall was built to line the western edge of a public square.
By 1831, the Potsdamer Gate area was a tourist center with a railroad station,hotels, and restaurants. With the National Socialist's rise to power,many houses  were demolished to make way for a huge area to house monumental buildings for the Nazi party, state, and businesses.
Even though many houses also destroyed by allied air raids,life quickly came back, with stores and restaurants opening after world war II.
But with the Berlin Wall constructed in August of 1961,separating north-south through Potsdamer

Platz. All the buildings east of the wall were cleared to give border guards open fields.
The fall of Berlin wall in 1990 brought great hope for urban progress and opportunity to connect north and south together.

The urban design by Renzo Piano ,in the end,primarily shaped the new
development.

The most successful truly part of the public areas of the district are two public plazas that site
adjacent to one another at the heart of Potsdamer Plataz. This two piazza points out the main

entrance of underground train station .And the piazza also serves as the space for public ,political

and social activities .

However,I hold the opinion when most paths lead to the covered mall,those buildings serve to
remove people from the actual public spaces into indoor streets.As it is now ,the privatised public
space dominates the area.Except from this ,overall ,it is a successful urban design define the
commercial and entertainment sector of Berlin.