Pressehaus am Alexanderplatz

The Pressehaus am Alexanderplatz was constructed in 1970–1973 for the Berliner Verlag publishing house based on plans by architects Karl-Ernst Swora, Rainer Hanslik, Günter Derdau, Waldemar Seifert, and Gerhard Voss. It was built a competition to the Axel Springer high-rise completed in 1965 in West Berlin. gmp’s commission includes successive refurbishment and maintenance of the building ensemble according to the specifications for monument preservation as well as a new building part. The completion of the first construction phase made it possible to reopen the 17-story, 92-meter-long high-rise section with office and commercial units in May 2019. The building now has retained its original, listed facade structure. The glazed stairwell tower on the narrower southwest side, which has also been authentically refurbished, connects to the former Pressecafé. Refurbishment of the elevated, flat-roofed restaurant building featuring large glass facades began in summer 2019 and the characteristic exterior mural by artist Willi Neubert (1920–2011) is now visible again. At the same time, construction started on the New Podium designed by gmp, which will replace the former flat-roofed structure at the northwest end to the rear. The new office building, whose design follows the sloping roofs of the neighboring Scheunenviertel district, forms a single unit with the high-rise and Pressecafé in terms of both form and function, without diminishing their importance as monuments.