#spreedescription

In 1995, the company TLG Immobilien GmbH bought the Eisfabrik Land from the Berliner Kühlhaus GmbH, who was until then running the Eisfabrik company until 1991. In 2008, part of the land is sold to the company Telamon GmbH with whom TLG shares now the property. On the one side on the lot n° 717-09020 is a free land, on which an unoccupied building is standing on the street side on Köpenicker Strasse 40-41 and on the lot n°717-09021 the former factory building accessible through this first named property. Telamon GmbH is also the owner of the land on the other side of the Spree, on which Radialsystem V is nowadays located. 

Nowadays protected under Denkmalschutz, the building of the Eisfabrik that time progressively transformed into urban ruin is one of the main targeted area for investors due to its spectacular architecture and the potential that represents the still empty land surrounding it. 

In 2010, against the opposition of local initiatives and associations together with the Greens of Berlin-Kreuzberg / Friedrichshain and Berlin-Mitte, the chairman of the Committee on Cultural Affairs in the Berlin House of Representatives, Alice Stöver, but also nationwide organizations such as the Federal Foundation for Building Culture, the Confederation of German architects, and members of the Bundestag from the SPD and CDU, the parliamentary group of the Greens and the Deputy President of the Bundestag Wolfgang Thierse, TLG Immobilien GmbH started in May 2010 the demolition of part of the building thus the destruction of the monument ensemble. In November 2010, the demolition was completed. The Eisfabrik Initiative lists since then the different actions and news undertaken by all actors involved in the current developments of the area.

The rooftop of the Eisfabrik has been for a long time used by the party Berliners to grab a drink with a view, looking directly at the Spree. But for some others, the Eisfabrik was as well a refuge and hosted, until the decision of expulsion was taken in December 2013, some 50 permanent inhabitants living between the walls of the former factory. Despite the several allegations from the City to the owner to secure and close the buildings for security reasons, the final decision is given on the 23rd of December 2013: the decision lists the measures that have to be undertaken to secure the area: closing of the entrances and windows by permanent solutions (concrete blocks) up to 5m. One year later, in December 2014, TLG asks the city for the investment on a fence that would separate physically and isolate the territory occupied by the Teepeelanders. The fence is today surrounding the full area and no more access nor use is possible on Eisfrabrik lands.

According the the Eisfabrik Initiative, on the 11th of may 2014, 4 offers from buyers and developers for the lands and buildings on the Köpenicker Strasse 40-41 have been given, considering the ensemble as a possiblity for a mixed use encompassing living, working and cultural uses. In the Eisfabrik itself, the development of a cultural project - yet not known - is to be expected.

Digging in the press (in german)

07.11.2008 - Morgenpost: TLG verkauft Eisfabrik am Spreeufer

10.05.2010 - Morgenpost: Bolles Eisfabrik-Ensemble in Mitte ist bedroht

20.09.2013 - Berliner Zeitung: Armutsflüchtlinge in Berlin: Verloren in bester Lage

29.09.2013 - Taz: Letzte Nischen, heiß umkämpft

04.04.2014 - Tagesspiegel: Kunst und Wohnen in der Eisfabrik

Documents and Links:

23.12.2013 - City statement regarding the eviction and the protection of the building 

Berlin Eisfabrik initiative, gathering all events and decisions regarding the Eisfabrik and its territory.

Description of the elements listed and protected (Denkmalschutz beschreibung)

In one of the few remaining public grounds around the Spree, on the Alt-Mitte Luisenstadt side of the river, a couple of people have installed their homes in July 2012 and settled the community known as Teepee Land or Teepee Village (Dorf). Located on what should become the Spreeufer promenade, the settlement develops on a path voluntarily kept public, constituting the base of the common agreement between the community and the public powers (district and city). Teepee Land is welcoming and any passer by or curious is invited to look and/or stay. A public square in the middle of the Teepee camp host a protected open wooden structure where the community gathers around a fire on a common outside living room. Celebrations are commons in Teepee Land: an open stage situated half way on the public land and half way on the ground of the Eisfabrik hosts events such as music, theater performances and film screenings. The neighboring Eisfabrik has been fenced in 2014 after the eviction of its occupiers. Since then, Teepeeland is bordered by a fence that delimitates clearly their territory: on the one side, the fringed land they are officially allowed to occupy directly at the Spree, on the other side, a vast unused land waiting patiently for its own future. In Teepee Land, the former path linking the former Eisfabrik to the Spree is protected (Denkmalschutz) and necessarily preserved by the inhabitants. The choice of a Teepees structure allow to maintain the quality of the environment and respect the present vegetation as the elements of landscapes. The community counts today 15 members and can host up to 100 couchsurfers per night. One of its founder and the first one to install his home started the adventure on another land located directly at the Spree also known as Berlin's favela: Cuvrybrache. Flieger was the first one in Cuvrybrache to start to use the land. After him, the tent movement grew really fast. The social climate in Cuvrybrache became quickly dangerous and conflictual, mixing populations with different goals and visions. That was not what Flieger, the first and main Teepeelander, envisioned for his community. That was not what he chose to live. One of the specificities of Teepee Land is the motivation of its inhabitants: TeepeeLand is a choice. Not a refuge. Most of Teepeelanders have another home option. Some have families and apartments that they still rent in the city. But living in TeepeeLand and accepting its rules is a choice for a living, constituting therefore another housing model no developer or architect usually consider as valid or even possible and for sure classified under the umbrella of the « informal ». With its international community and its no politics, no religion, no money and no hard drugs and alcohol allowed in the land, TeepeeLand recalls on a smaller scale and without acknowledging it the experience of Auroville in India. As well with the alternative - almost performative - way of life and the giving/getting everything for free as the utilization of every available square meter of ground for food culture to reach self sustainability, Teepee Landers could be considered as the contemporary Diggers. Nowadays, TeepeeLanders have founded an association and reclaim TeepeeLand as a cultural project, beyond the community. Whereas construction and improvement projects are taking place - with the realization of the future winter kitchen for example - negotiations with the city are currently ongoing regarding the possibility of an official use of the land in the future. The story doesn’t tell yet for how long they can stay, experiment and share their way of life. 

Digging in the press (in german)

14.06.2012 - Tagesspiegel:  Zeltstadt statt Guggenheim 09.08.2013 - Berliner kurier: Die Zeltstadt der Spree-Indianer

18.08.2014 - bz-online: Hippie Commune - Die Großstadt-Indianer von der Schillingbrücke

01.09.2014 - Die Baumeister: Die Indianer von der Spree

The land in which the Spreefeld is today implemented has been sold to the Cooperative Spreefeld in 2010 after a 2 years long sale process by the Bundesanstalt for Immobilienaufgabe (Federal Agency for Property Assignments), a public enterprise under the right an surveillance of the German Finance Ministry. The land was until then used by the Kiki Blofeld - as In between use (Zwischennutzung) - which was forced to move out as well as its neighboring club the Kater Holzig (see Holzmarkt + Eckwerk). When the sale process started, the public policy regarding the cession of land was operated according to the principle of the highest bidder, not depending on the concept or future use of the zone. Despite those rules, the Spreefeld Cooperative managed to acquire the land and developed a unique financing model on 2 different levels: on the one hand regarding the buying and building costs, assumed by the community as a whole and on the other hand, the reduction of costs for the future renters as individual by subsidies and access to lower interest rates and « social » banking. 

The initiative has been carried on by a group of 16 individuals amongst who the architect Christian Schöningh - initiator, developer and executor. He understood early as current user of the neighborhood the potential and challenges that this specific space represents for the city and managed to match political and personal ambitions: implementing cooperative housing and open - though private/cooperative - spaces at the river Spree contributes in enhancing a quality of lifestyle and produces a global reflexion by transforming alternatives into reality. As well, the model of the Spreefeld brings the now traditional «Baugruppe» model one step further: the conditions of access to the community orientates strictly towards a non-for-profit investment: the members of the community pay an entry fee to get a share of the community. This entry fee represents a small amount of money (from 1000 euros) compared to what would have to been paid to own a house. Further, the communers pay a rent to ensure the feasibility of the operation and the pay back of the debts to the financial actors. Once the total reimbursement of credits would be assumed, the question of maintaining a rent for maintenance or improvement of the structure will be discussed with every member. By leaving, the members of the community would get back the amount of money they invested at first and would be replaced by the entry fee of the new comer. As such, the limited company who originally bought the land transferred to a Construction and Housing Cooperative (B-WG) in 2012. 

The architectural project has been developed by the Zusammenarbeiter for the development and program and by the association of Carpaneto+Schöningh, fatkoehl Architects and  Bar Architects for its architectural form. The Spreefeld is constituted of 3 building blocks hosting 60 housing units different in sizes and typologies (including « Community Homes » of 600-800 m2) and 1000 m2 of « Option spaces » occupied or rented to creative users / entrepreneurs and/or used by the community as extra spaces. On the land, one can also find the Boat house situated directly at the river Spree supports today cultural public events. And last but not least, the main part of the compound are the open spaces and the beach directly at the Spree constituting more than 40% of the superficie of the ground and everyday used by campers, enjoyers and passers by without apparently creating interferences with the community.

Source ©Carpaneto+Schoeningh

Source ©Fatkoehl Architekten

Digging in the press (in german)

22.06.11 - Taz: Mieter mit Spreeblick 05.09.2011 - Berliner Zeitung: Die Party an der Spree geht 03.03.2015 - Tagesspiegel: Am alten Kater Holzig wird gewohnt - und gefeiert  2014 - Bauwelt: Spreefeld. (Interview of the architects, Full article in pdf.) Digging in the press (in english)

16.09.2011 - Exberliner: Spreefeld: Third Way on the Spree? 18.11.2014 - Vivero Iniciativas Ciudadanas: Citizen urbanism: economical scapes Downloads

. Satzung  der Bau- und Wohngenossenschaft Spreefeld Berlin eG (June 2015) . Ecke Köpenicker n°4 - June 2014 . Formal and informal planning strategies encouraging private developers to realize inclusive, mixed-use housing projects: Urban renewal in Berlin’s post-industrial waterfront Spree area. / Master Thesis 2013 (TU Berlin - Urban Management) Maria del Pilar Ospina, supervisor: Dr. Michael Lafond (in english) . Feasibility Study for the Spreeuferpromenade (p 27-30, details on the current B-Plan I-32aa and I-32ab)

Interview from Dr. Michael Lafond on the Spreefeld project and cooperative (in german)

In 2012, the Kater Holzig had to move from its location situated on the Alt-Mitte river banks of the Spree to let the building it occupied for the development of luxury housing. Its destination would recall some memories as the Kater Holzig moved back to its origin: on the other side of the river where the adventure of the club - then known as Bar 25 - once started.

The now called Kater Blau moved directly on the then City owned land. But the owners of the Kater Blau, amongst who Juval Dieziger, have other ambitions: to develop a global sustainable urban village on the 18000 m2 peace of land. At that time, the City project to balance public debts is to sell the land to the highest bidder: the Media Spree development proposes to investors the possibility of building high-rises at the Spree. The popular movement against Media Spree in 2008 brought 87% of the population to stand on the side of the Kater Blau initiators and despite the fact the the Referendum had no legal power, the City administration as well as all the political parties stated in favor of the future Holzmarkt. The concept of the Holzmarkt imagined with the expertise of the entrepreneur Mario Husten is extremely ambitious and proposes a variety of uses as well of a variety of users: the future inhabitants of the Holzmarkt come from different social background, are families, entrepreneurs, elderly, and they all can contribute through their skill and time to transform the Holzmarkt in a fully functional village. The program proposes also solutions to balance the possible unbalance between the different users and therefore proposes subsidized rents as well as facilities accessible to different targeted social groups. The village would work as a cooperative where every individual investor would have one vote in the community, regardless of the amount of money invested. This money would then returned to the user who would once want to leave the community. Nevertheless and despite a very successful fundraising campaign, the land still has to be sold and built. In the beginning of 2013, there are still 2,5 millions euros missing: the Holzmarkt initiators called the Stiftung Abendrot, a swiss pension fund, and convinced them to buy the land and establish a long term leasehold of 75 years to the benefit of the Holzmarkt plus eG. 

The land can then be bought back by the Holzmarkt plug eG at at predetermined fixed price: Eva Zumbrunn and Hans Ulrich Stauffer, co-founders of the Stiftung Abendrot, both are extremely satisfied to have succeeded in definitely dragging out the land from the market.

The land is naturally divided into 2 different parts by the aerial tracks of Berlin Subway system. On the urban side, the project Eckwerk developed by both emblematic Berlin architecture firms Kleihues+Kleihues and Graft Architects would be directed towards offices use. Within the buildings linked by floating pathways, small start ups as already established companies would gather, meet and work together. Whereas on the river side, the Holzmarkt project is developed by the architecture cooperative agency Hütten&Paläste.

The construction site of the Holzmarkt started in Mai 2013. The construction concerns only the infrastructures of the future village, as a collective model of Le Corbusier’s Domino House. The complete project will be realized by and with the inhabitants whose constructions proposals will need to match both needs and concept. Amongst the specificities of the mixed use project, the Holzmarkt village will host a restaurant serving both gastronomy and fast food, a 24 hours Kindergarden, an hotel where pricey and cheap rooms would co-habit, urban gardening, and naturally, the Kater Blau.

Eckwerk ©Kleihues + Graft / Holzmarkt

Holzmarkt ©Hütten&Paläste, Carpaneto+Schöningh, Urban Affairs Source: Baunetz

Digging in the press (in german)

17.10.2012 - Berliner Zeitung: Zurück zum anderen Ufer 29.01.2013 - Tagesspiegel: Holzmarkt-Projekt vor dem Aus 08.02.2014 - Taz: Basler Wertekanon an der Spree 02.04.2014 - Baunetz: Spielplatz für Erwachsene: Baubeginn für Berliner Holzmarkt-Projekt 28.04.2014 - Baunetz: Fische auf dem Dach: Kleihues + Kleihues bauen mit Graft am Berliner Spreeufer 25.04.2014 - Tagesspiegel: Räume schaffen, wo sie niemand erwartet 01.09.2014 - der Spiegel: So mögen wir es in Berlin 04.11.2014 - Tagesspiegel: Insolvenz: Aus die Maus für Kater Holzig

Websites

. Holzmarkt . Stiftung Abendrot . Genossenschaft für Urbane Kreativität . KaterBlau

Downloads

. Holzmarkt brochure

Presentation of the Project by Juval Dietziger and Mario Husten at the Lift Conference in 2014

The Zapf Umzüge land is located on a 18000 m2 ground at the corner of the Köpenicker Straße and the Broomystraße - where the future pedestrian only Broomy bridge will link both sides of the river Spree at the level of the Living Levels building.

The Zapf company activity is still on going and the yellow containers that punctuate the ground announce directly the use to the passers by. A giant bronze statue of Lenin marks the entrance of the large industrial hall hosting the activities of the company. The building occupies a big part of the land and presents no opening to the river Spree of which neither the employees nor the public have any access.

Whereas the B-Plan is still in progress, the company, owner of the land, has started a development plan with the architectural firm Faber+Faber for which they envision the construction of 300 housing units, all directed to the Spree. The high of the buildings wouldn’t exceed the 22 m high (classical high observed in Berlin) and the open spaces wouldn’t be fenced. Furthermore, a public promenade of around 16 meters wide at the Spree would be envisioned. The rent prices of the housing units wouldn’t exceed 11 euros/m2. Illustration ©Faber+Faber

Despite the openness of the plan and the apparent respect of both the developer views and the people’s plan, a controversial alternative project has been developed by The Space between People, an independent architectural consultancy office. 

Their plan proposes to enlarge the public realm to 50 m, to clarify a public access from the Köpenicker Straße to the newly created public park and to initiate a collaborative design process with the future inhabitants. According to the authors, the costs for the inhabitants should cover only the costs of the construction and not the costs of the ground: they propose to sell the land to a foundation that would then establish a long term lease with the future users (similarly to the current leasing development plan of the ground of the Holzmarkt, made possible through the buying of the land by the swiss foundation Abendrot). 

Plan ©theSpaceBetweenPeople

There is nevertheless one remaining question from these - not so different - approaches: As a long term lease contract remains profitable for the investor - private or public - why wouldn’t the private sector and in this case the Zapf firm itself lease the ground they own, without the need of any intermediary?

Digging in the press (in german)

08.11.2013 - Morgenpost: Traditionsunternehmen Zapf Umzüge macht Platz für Neubauten 03.02.2014 - bz Berlin: In Kreuzberg werden die Bauherren erpresst 20.06.2014 - Tagesspiegel - Berlin bekommt eine Hipster-Promenade 21.08.2014 - Süddeutsche - Zum Tod von Klaus Zapf

Downloads (in english):