After the World War II, Berlin Was Divided Into Four Sectors
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URBAN TRANSFORMATION OF A SOCIALIST CITY: A CASE STUDY OF EAST BERLIN - ALEXANDERPLATZ A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY DĠLRA NAZLI ERĠÇ IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE IN ARCHITECTURE JUNE 2008 Approval of the thesis: URBAN TRANSFORMATION OF A SOCIALIST CITY: A CASE STUDY OF EAST BERLIN - ALEXANDERPLATZ submitted by DİLRA NAZLI ERİÇ in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture in Architecture Department, Middle East Technical University by, Prof. Dr. Canan Özgen _____________________ Dean, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences Assoc. Prof. Dr. Güven Arif Sargın _____________________ Head of Department, Architecture Assoc. Prof. Dr. Güven Arif Sargın _____________________ Supervisor, Architecture Department, METU Examining Committee Members: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aydan Balamir _____________________ Architecture Department, METU Assoc. Prof. Dr. Güven Arif Sargın _____________________ Architecture Department, METU Assist. Prof. Dr. Adnan Barlas _____________________ City and Regional Planning Department, METU Inst. Dr. Namık Erkal _____________________ Architecture Department, METU Assist. Prof. Dr. Bülent Batuman _____________________ Architecture Department, Mersin University Date: 20 June 2008 I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name : Dilra Nazlı Eriç Signature : iii ABSTRACT URBAN TRANSFORMATION OF A SOCIALIST CITY: A CASE STUDY OF EAST BERLIN - ALEXANDERPLATZ Eriç, Dilra Nazlı M. Arch., Department of Architecture Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Güven Arif Sargın June 2008, 123 pages This thesis examines the role of politics in transformation of urban spaces. In this regard, the main focus is Berlin because the city represents how politics of each era is effective in urban development processes: Once a divided city after the World War II where Berlin manifested both parties‟ ideological sentience and related urban strategies, the city soon came under successive transformations in accordance with the expectations of the new regime upon its re-unification. In this framework, by studying the Alexanderplatz Project as an example, the thesis questions the urban space policies of the East Berlin as socialist and the West Berlin as capitalist during the division years; the political transformation of the East Berlin after the fall of Berlin Wall; and the current conditions of East Berlin after re-unification. Here the aim of this study is to understand the different systems of urban space under the pressure of socialist and capitalist ideologies. Through the spatial analyses of the former East and West Berlin and through the comparative analyses of East Berlin in its transformation years the study intends to decipher how such successive changes took place and became operative under different regimes. Alexanderplatz is regarded as a unique example with which urban transformation is in accordance with changes in the political system. Keywords: East Berlin, Alexanderplatz, Socialist city, Urban Transformation iv ÖZ SOSYALĠST BĠR KENTĠN DÖNÜġÜMÜ: DOĞU BERLĠN – ALEXANDERPLATZ ÖRNEĞĠ Eriç, Dilra Nazlı Yüksek Lisans, Mimarlık Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Güven Arif Sargın Haziran 2008, 123 sayfa Bu tez, politikanın kent mekanlarının dönüĢümündeki rolünü incelemektedir. Bu anlamda çalıĢma, politikanın kentsel geliĢme süreçlerine etkisini baĢarıyla temsil etmesi nedeniyle, Berlin üzerine yoğunlaĢmaktadır: Ġkinci Dünya SavaĢı sonrası her iki kampın ideolojik yapısı ve ilgili kentsel stratejilerini manifeste eden Berlin, Doğu ve Batı Almanya‟nın birleĢmesi sonrası, yeni rejimin beklentilerine uyumlu bir biçimde, birbirini takip eden dönüĢümlere de maruz kalmıĢtır. Doğu Berlin‟in önemli bir meydanı olan Alexanderplatz Projesi‟ni örnekleyerek tez, ayrıĢma yıllarında Doğu Berlin kentsel mekan politikalarını sosyalist ve Batı Berlin kentsel mekan politikalarını ise kapitalist olarak tanımlamaktadır. Berlin Duvarı‟nın yıkılması sonrası görülen mekansal talepler ve yeniden birleĢmeyi takip eden dönemde yer alan ve özellikle Doğu Berlin‟de örneklenen mekansal dönüĢümler de, tez kapsamı içerisindedir. Tezin amacı, sosyalist ve kapitalist ideolojilerin baskısı altında oluĢan, farklı kentsel mekan sistemlerini anlamaktır. Doğu ve Batı Berlin‟in mekansal nitelikleri ve karĢılaĢtırmalı mekansal analizleri yapılarak, birbirini takip eden dönüĢümlerin doğası ve etkinliği anlaĢılmaya çalıĢılmıĢtır. Alexanderplatz bu bağlamda, kentsel dönüĢümün politik sistemdeki değiĢikliklere bağlı olduğunu göstermesi açısından, özgün bir örnek olarak değerlendirilmektedir. Anahtar Sözcükler: Doğu Berlin, Alexanderplatz, Sosyalist Kent, Kentsel DönüĢüm v To my family vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Assoc.Prof.Dr Güven Arif Sargın for his insightful supervision throughout this study. Especially, the courses ARCH 401 and ARCH 505, directed by him, developed the basis of this research. His guidance and advice is very crucial for me. I would like to thank to the jury members, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aydan Balamir, Assist. Prof. Dr. Adnan Barlas, Inst. Dr. Namık Erkal and Assist. Prof. Dr. Bülent Batuman, for their inspiring critics and contributions which helped very much to finalize my study. I owe my deepest appreciation and thanks to my parents Zehra - Adil Eriç and my sister Serra Aslı Eriç for their patience and belief in me. I am grateful to Gizem Erkaya and Ġrem Erkaya for their tireless support and valuable suggestions. I also express my gratitude to my friends and colleagues for their support and motivation to write this thesis. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... iv ÖZ ............................................................................................................................................ v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT................................................................................................ vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES ...............................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Aims and Objectives of the Study ............................................................. 2 1.2. Methodology ............................................................................................. 3 1.3. Theories on Urban Transformation: Berlin Circa 1950–2008 .................... 3 2. BERLIN: A HISTORICAL ACCOUNT .................................................................... 9 2.1. Berlin at the Beginning of the 20th Century ..................................................... 9 2.2. Berlin in the Third Reich Period ....................................................................... 17 3. DIVISION OF BERLIN ............................................................................................. 21 3.1. Politics in Germany after WWII ....................................................................... 21 3.2. Architecture and Urban Planning in Divided Berlin ..................................... 27 3.2.1. Planning in East Berlin ............................................................................ 30 3.2.1.1. The Soviet Union Background of Socialist City .................... 30 3.2.1.2. Construction of East Berlin under the Soviet Union ............ 33 3.2.2. Planning in the West Berlin .................................................................... 53 4. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE URBAN TRANSFORMATION IN BERLIN AFTER REUNIFICATION ............................................................................................. 70 4.1. Fall of Berlin Wall ................................................................................................. 70 4.2. Transformation of East Berlin after Reunification .......................................... 71 viii 4.2.1. East Berlin as a Post-Socialist City ...................................................... 75 4.2.2. Reconstruction of Unified Berlin as the Capital City of new Germany ................................................................................................... 78 4.2.3. The Alexanderplatz Competition ........................................................... 86 5. CONCLUSION........................................................................................................... 101 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 111 APPENDICES A. SIXTEEN PRINCIPLES FOR RESTRUCTURING THE CITIES ............. 115 B. DIE 16 GRUNDSÄTZE DES STÄDTEBAUS ............................................ 117 C. THE FIRST-PRIZED PROJECT OF ALEXANDERPLATZ COMPETITION .......................................................................................... 120 D. THE SECOND-PRIZED PROJECT OF ALEXANDERPLATZ COMPETITION ................................................................................................