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 of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Completed in 1998, the complex is located on the river Spree. The name "Treptowers" is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

word from Treptow and the English word "tower".

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 totalled 190 million

Deutsche Mark The Deutsche Mark (; "German mark (currency), mark"), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later of unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it ...

s. The buildings were constructed on the site of a former electrical appliance factory complex, which was built in 1926 by

AEG The initials AEG are used for or may refer to: Common meanings * AEG (German company) ; AEG) was a German producer of electrical equipment. It was established in 1883 by Emil Rathenau as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte El ...

. After World War II, the plant was expropriated by VEB Elektro-Apparate-Werke Berlin-Treptow, a state-owned company in the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, 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. The 30 meter high sculpture '' Molecule Men'' by Jonathan Borofsky was built in 1999 and 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 .

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Germany, Architecture Buildings and structures completed in 1998 Buildings and structures in Treptow-Köpenick Skyscrapers in Berlin Skyscraper office buildings in Germany

Genesis and architecture

See also

References

External links