In the heart of Berlin, in the heart of Kreuzberg
The Otto Suhr Estate is centrally located in the locality of Kreuzberg in the borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. It was built in the 1960s and was one of the first large-scale housing estates in Berlin. Then, as now, it stands out on account of its ample room for green spaces and its striking balconies with their brickwork.
The Otto Suhr Estate in Kreuzberg was also one of the major reconstruction projects in West Berlin in the post-war period. The construction of the estate, which bears the name of a former Governing Mayor of Berlin, took a total of seven years. In recent years, the estate, which boasts more than 1,600 apartments, has been completely renovated. The size of the to-do list, drawn up in-house, rivalled the number of apartments: the modernisation and construction programme included refurbishment of the windows, modernisation of the building entrances and stairwells, and thermal insulation for the facades, the top floors and the cellar ceilings. Due to the size of the estate, enormous energy savings have been achieved through these measures.
In the course of the work, 28 additional apartments were built using timber frames and by adding an attic storey.
The refurbishment of the balconies was particularly complex. The old bricks were removed only if necessary and the gaps filled with bricks that were produced in-house. Why? So that they are exactly the right shade. The balcony parapets could also have been replaced by simple metal structures, but it was important to preserve the estate’s unique appearance.