The development of a masterplan is part of a real estate developer’s portfolio of services. Lehrter Stadtquartier is a major undeveloped site in the centre of Berlin. Between 1997 and 2003, Hühne Immobilien provided development services for the most significant part of this site. Our goal was to create the best possible preconditions for the future construction and marketing.

The location has the potential to rival Berlin’s best such as Potsdamer Platz. The setting on the banks of Spree River, opposite the Federal Chancellery, as well as the unique transport infrastructure of the central railway station, provide exceptional parameters. The master plan designed by architect Oswald Mathias Ungers calls for large-scale buildings that echo the dominant structures of the railway station and the nearby government buildings.

Our tasks were highly diverse. On the one hand, our focus was on conceptual planning. In order to verify all parameters of the master plan, detailed test designs were commissioned and evaluated for seven buildings with a total floor area of 1.6 million square feet. We identified solutions for an appropriate arrangement of the ground-floor zones in order to provide a well functioning framework for the entire masterplan site.

Also, agreements regarding quality standards and scheduling for the streets and public spaces were negotiated with the Berlin senate. Due to our initiative, for instance, an international design competition was held for the large open space between the central station and the Spree River.

We had envisioned high-quality office buildings for the development sites (colored in red) which were part of our assignment. We believe that hotels, apartments, and cultural facilities would be best placed around the attractive waterfront of the Humboldthafen, a historic inner city harbor. In our opinion, detailed design guidelines are necessary for the entire masterplan area to ensure quality standards. Future tenants and potential investors appreciate knowing what their neighboring buildings will look like and how they will be used.

Basics