Bahntower

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Bahntower
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, also written as BahnTower and Bahn-Tower, (English: Railway Tower) is a 26-story, 103 m (338 ft) skyscraper on the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany. Built between 1998 and 2000, the Bahntower provides 22,000 m2 (236,806 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[edit]

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 cm by 150 cm (1 ft 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 €600m.[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[edit]

  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.
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