Kollwitz­straße Berlin, new building/modernisation, completion 2003

The Kollwitzplatz and the Kollwitzstraße have advanced to become the centre of luxurious living in recent years. The homogeneous type of development preserved from the 19th century of typical Berlin courtyards means an urban feeling of life for many city dwellers. The front building mediates in the form of its cornice-like balconies between the public world of the street and the private spaces of the apartments lying behind it.

The strong contrast of the red plastered wall with the white stone cornices and railings creates a playful reference to other northern cities like Copenhagen, Stockholm or St. Petersburg. The wing, flooded with light and spreading out toward the courtyard, more exterior than interior space with its veranda-like glazing, is reminiscent of the interior painting of the northern school of painting, for example, Jan Vermeer from Flanders.