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Broadcasting Centre Berlin

Berlin, Germany
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The Funkhaus is a building complex in Berlin 's Treptow-Kopenick district in which had seat and operated the radio of GDR from 1956 to 1990.

A broadcast house for the GDR radio programs was expanded in the building complex of a former plywood factory in Nalepastrasse, located in the Soviet sector of Berlin in 1951. In 1952 the construction of a complete new broadcasting house with music recording studios and a large broadcasting hall began on the 135,000 m2 site near the river Spree in Oberschoneweide according to plans of architect Franz Ehrlich. The new building was named Block B.

According to the usage, the protected part of the radio building was divided into four functionally separate building parts, which are interconnected by bridge-like, column-supported transitions. In the monumental main building, with the dominant, nine-storey tower house, numerous offices for the editors and administration as well as recording studios for radio broadcasts were created. Arcuate studio building was a unique acoustics built after the house-in-house principle and includes multiple recording and radio studios and the Great Broadcasting Hall 1. Together with the factory garden, the building complex has been a protected monument since the beginning of the 21st century.

The concrete skeleton of the former veneer factory was given a new facade of red brickwork and divided with vertical pilasters. These have no constructive function, but give the building a clear and monumental character, which is given a certain lightness by the elegantly suspended roof.

The layout and construction of the neighboring studio building, which consists of an external house and eight inner houses, are unusual. The architect designed a windowless head construction, the corner masses of which also frame a central building without windows, which in turn is vertically structured by means of pre-assembled lisers. Behind it lies the large reception hall 1, which is known world-wide for its acoustics. The connected studios are grouped in a quarter-circle arch and equipped with a thought-out development system. The exterior glazed and light-flooded archway with the large steel windows is a reminiscence of the Bauhaus and served as a foyer and lounge. The smaller, inner arcade opened the technical rooms. The studios themselves have a trapezoidal floor plan and separate foundations to avoid sound transmissions, as well as adjoining government and lounges.

Already during the planning phase, Franz Ehrlich worked closely with the broadcast technician Gerhard Probst. Despite time pressure and limited financial resources, the builders have succeeded in creating an acoustically perfect building, which still attracts musicians and orchestras from all over the world. The studio building is considered to be the largest connected studiocomplex in the world.

Despite the size of the buildings, the architect deliberately refrained from representative accesses or entrances to the buildings. This foreclosure against the environment was a compositional principle and should symbolize the concentration on the work. If, however, a visitor enters the buildings through the sometimes almost hidden entrances, generous foyers with freestreads and representative entrance halls with columns open up to him.

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bostjan, September 12th, 2019
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