The Treptowers is a complex of buildings with a distinctive high-rise in the
Alt-Treptow
Alt-Treptow (, literally ''Old Treptow'') is a German locality in the borough of Treptow-Köpenick in Berlin. Known also as Treptow it was, until 2001, the main and the eponymous locality of the former Treptow borough.
History
The locality, first ...
district of
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Completed in 1998, the complex is located on the
Spree River
Spree may refer to:
Geography
* Spree (river), river in Germany
Film and television
* ''The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
* Spree (film), ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery
* Spree ( ...
. The name "Treptowers" is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words
Genesis and architecture
The Treptowers complex consists of four buildings and is the result of an architectural competition held in 1993 and won by the architect Gerhard Spangenberg. The detailed planning and building was carried out by a partnership of architects Schweger and Reichel + Stauth from Brunswick. Roland Ernst joined Urban GmbH & Co. as project developer and overseer of construction. The final construction cost totaled 500 million euros.
The buildings were constructed on the site of a former electrical appliance factory complex, which was built in 1926 by
AEG
Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG; ) was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in Berlin as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität'' in 1883 by Emil Rathenau. During the Second World War, AEG ...
. After World War II, the plant was expropriated by
VEB VEB may stand for:
* Venturing and Emerging Brands, a division of Coca-Cola
* Virtual business
* Venezuelan , currency of Venezuela between 1879 and 2007, ISO 4217 code VEB
* ' (German for "People-owned enterprise"), a state-owned workplace or est ...
Elektro-Apparate-Werke
The Elektro-Apparate-Werke (EAW) was a state-owned industrial operation of the German Democratic Republic (DDR, East Germany). It was a successor of the combine VEB ''Elektro-Apparate-Werke'' (VEB) and, with more than 8000 employees, was one of t ...
Berlin-Treptow, a state-owned company in the
German Democratic Republic
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
, and production continued until 1995.
The buildings have a square floor plan with a steel and glass facade, though portions of each building have stone facades to create a unified architectural look with neighboring buildings. At 125 meters, Treptowers is the tallest office building in Berlin and the same height as the
Park Inn
Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, formerly Park Plaza International Hotels, Inns and Resorts and commonly known as just Park Plaza, is a hotel chain which runs several hotel groups as franchises. It was established in 1986 as a company and acquired b ...
.
The 30 meter high sculpture
Molecule Man
The Molecule Man (Owen Reece) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #20 in November 1963 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He is often portrayed as a supervi ...
by Jonathan Borofsky sits in front of Treptowers in the River Spree. The sculpture's three figures represent the three Berlin districts of Treptow, Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. Treptowers also houses a permanent exhibition of 500 works by contemporary artists.
The Federal Criminal Police Office has a branch inside the building.
In 2013, the complex was acquired by an investment company, supported by Japanese investors, for approximately .
See also
*
List of tallest buildings in Berlin
This list of tallest buildings in Berlin ranks skyscrapers, free standing structures and high-rises in the German capital of Berlin by height. The tallest structure in Berlin is the Fernsehturm Berlin, which rises .
A cluster of office high r ...