citylikeyou — Hansaviertel — Berlin by Leif Podhajsky

Berlin / Architecture

I never knew this neighbourhood existed and went to visit a friend and was instantly transported out of Berlin into some sort of 50’s utopia. “The Hansaviertel is a prime example of modern architecture and urban planning in the fifties in Berlin. 36 individual buildings or ensembles still form the model of modern architecture and urban planning of the 1950s. The southern part of the war-damaged Hansaviertel, which lies between the S-Bahn line and Tiergarten, was chosen as the central demonstration area of the International Building Exhibition in order to present the “city of tomorrow” - in deliberate contrast to the East Berlin Stalinallee and the restored tenement barracks.” - berlin.de Also visit The Akademie der Künste, if not for the art then the architecture alone.

Address
Hansaviertel, Altonaer Straße, Berlin, Germany

Artist Art Director Graphic Designer Visual Artist

Current city: Berlin

Other cities: London Copenhagen

leifpodhajsky.com

Leif is a Grammy Nominated Visual Artist and Creative Director. His approach is based on the exchange between organic systems and new technologies that strive to inspire and stimulate thought.

More Places in Berlin 98

Berlin / Zoo

The Zoo and the Aquarium is on the things that never changed during the years. Everytime I visit it looks exactly the way when I first went when I was a little child. This place gives me a lot of inspiration, I like the way they want to make the cage enviroment look natural with artificiel light.

Berlin / Transport

Möckernbrücke is a station of the Berlin U-Bahn network in the western Kreuzberg district, named after a nearby bridge crossing the Landwehrkanal. The bahnhof (train station) is part of the first Stammstrecke route of the Berlin U-Bahn opened on February 15, 1902. As the station also served the nearby Anhalter Bahnhof the original building was soon getting too small to cope with the rising number of passengers. It therefore was demolished and replaced by the current station opened on March 25, 1937. Severely damaged by air raids it was closed on January 30, 1944 and not reopened until June 16, 1947. I like it here for the spookiness and feeling of impending doom that it has on a rainy day.

Berlin / Bookstore

My favourite book store with a minimal interior and maximum range of books on architecture, design, art, philosophy and politics.

Berlin / Museum

One of the most beautiful pieces of Berlin actually is a piece of another city (Al-Hillah, Iraq). Normally Berliners are laid back and like to hang around, drink beer and chat till sunrise. Sometimes they do get excited though, and then they start taking old war-battered stones and piecing them together to (re)form walls. The results are great as can be seen all over Berlin, but the Ishtar gate in the Pergamon museum is where they’ve really outdone themselves.

Berlin / Cafe

Situated in the patio of the Kunst-Werke, a well established exhibition house for contemporary art, this cafe features mirror-walls and a selection of nice cakes and lunch menu.