Plans for new Berlin quarter firmed up as concept selected

A new, mixed urban district for around 1,500 people is to be developed on a 3 hectare site in Berlin’s Lichtenberg district, in the north east of the city.

Three organisations own neighbouring portions of the site including, the state-owned Howoge, Otto Wulff Projektentwicklung and the state of Berlin, represented by BIM Berliner Immobilienmanagement. They will collaborate to jointly develop Fennpfuhler Tor quarter which will also provide a physical link between three districts, Lichtenberg, Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain.

The new quarter will provide a mix of housing for different user groups and space for offices, food and beverage, local retail, creative studios and social infrastructure. The aim is a project that addresses social, economic and ecological needs in an energy-efficient development.

An urban planning competition announced in October 2022 has been won by MLA+ of Berlin and Rotterdam in a partnership with Lysann Schmidt Landscape Architecture.

The design envisages a central eight storey building with three high-rise buildings on the periphery of the scheme.

Howoge and Otto Wulff will develop apartments for different user groups in the two eastern high-rise buildings and half of those built by Howoge will be publicly funded apartments. Living space for refugees will be included in the quarter.

Ground-floor level space will cater for everyday needs including medical care, social infrastructure and gastronomy.

The developers aim to complete the new quarter by 2026 using a fast development plan process.

“As part of the integrated approach for a ‘quarter of short distances’, we will focus not only on living but also on local amenities and businesses in lively ground floor zones,” explained Stefan Wulff, managing partner of Otto Wulff Projektentwicklung.