Bahntower

Bahntower
Bahntower in 2014
Map
General information
TypeCommercial offices
LocationPotsdamer Platz, Berlin, Germany
Coordinates52°30′35″N 13°22′30″E / 52.50972°N 13.37500°E / 52.50972; 13.37500
Construction started1998
Opening2000
OwnerMorgan Stanley
Height
Antenna spire103 m (338 ft)
Roof94 m (308 ft)
Technical details
Floor count26
Floor area22,000 m2 (240,000 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Helmut Jahn
DeveloperDeutsche Bahn
Main contractorHochtief AG

The Bahntower (English: Railway Tower), also written as BahnTower and Bahn-Tower, is a 26-story, 103-metre (338 ft) skyscraper on the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany. Built between 1998 and 2000, the Bahntower provides 22,000 m2 (240,000 sq ft)[1] of office space for the headquarters of Deutsche Bahn (English: German Railway). It is the sixth-tallest building in Berlin and the sixty-fourth tallest building in Germany.

History

In 2007 and 2008, it was reported that small pieces of glass had fallen onto the street from cracks in the façade. This was followed by a near-fatal incident in 2016 in which a pane of glass measuring 30 by 150 cm (1 by 5 ft) fell onto a car on the street below.[2]

The original owner of the skyscraper was Sony as part of the wider Sony Center. In February 2008, Morgan Stanley and others bought the Sony Center with the tower for €600 million.[3][4] In 2007, Deutsche Bahn had planned to move to a new headquarters built by Danish company 3XN outside the Berlin Hauptbahnhof,[5] although this fell through and Deutsche Bahn extended its Bahntower contract.[4][6]

When Morgan Stanley's real estate funds came into difficulties they sold their stake to South Korea's National Pension Service in 2010.[7]

In 2016, the Bahntower was featured in the Berlin skyline scene, which is part of the Lego Architecture series.

References

  1. ^ "Bahn findet keine Mieter für Hauptbahnhof". Berliner Morgenpost. 8 August 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Scheibe fiel von Bahntower: Frau entging nur knapp dem Tod". Berliner Morgenpost. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Berlin's Sony Center Sells for Bargain Price | DW | 28.02.2008". Deutsche Welle.
  4. ^ a b "Deutsche Bahn verwirft Pläne für Umzug". Financial Times Deutschland. Archived from the original on 30 May 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ Jürgens, Isabell (18 December 2007). "Mehdorn verstellt der Kanzlerin die Sicht". Die Welt. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  6. ^ "Deutsche Bahn bleibt am Potsdamer Platz". 23 June 2008.
  7. ^ "Korea's NPS to have doubled investment in Berlin's Sony Centre". 27 July 2017.

Media related to BahnTower at Wikimedia Commons