Building plans for Karstadt building on Hermannplatz rejected: size of the planned new building main criticism according to the statement

Building plans for Karstadt building on Hermannplatz rejected: size of the planned new building main criticism according to the statement

Neuköllner Office for Urban Development rejects Karstadt building construction plans

The Neuköllner Office for Urban Development has again rejected the construction plans of the Austrian Signa Group for the Karstadt building on Berliner Hermannplatz. The office had previously assessed the new building plans as "essentially incompatible".

The group then made some adjustments, but according to a statement by the office, they "did not lead to a more positive assessment, since uses and the dimension and effect of the main building in the area were not adapted". The 55-page document with the statement is dated June 20 and can be downloaded as a PDF.

Although the Neukölln district office names critical points, it has only limited decision -making authority in relation to the project. The Karstadt building is located in the neighboring district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and the Senate Department has drawn the development plan procedure. However, the office hopes that the Senate Administration will take the criticism into account.

The criticism of the office refers primarily to the size of the planned new building and not to the new building itself, as some residents and members of the "Hermannplatz for everyone" initiative do. In addition, previous objections of the districts have been ignored by the Senate Department, which is why the previous procedure is described as "unhappy", as it says in the statement.

The State Monument Council also criticized the plans of the Signa Group. According to the council, the draft would intervene too much into the listed substance. The blueprints had been discussed publicly by mid -June.

The Signa Group plans to convert the Karstadt building, whereby the facades of the pre-war building from 1929 are to be re-enacted under the direction of the renowned architect David Chipperfield. This also includes two 60 meter high towers. The shell of the existing building should be preserved.