Gazing upward, we see Berlin’s first high-rise, the Borsigturm. Constructed between 1922 and 1924, the Borsigturm stands as a testament to Berlin’s industrial might. It also represents architectural innovation. The Borsigturm is not in the city center. It is located in Berlin-Tegel.
Back then, the United States was the motherland of high-rise buildings. German architects wanted to emulate this example. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the Wabe. It was a bold concept for a twenty-storey office building. But the design was never implemented.
Instead, the Borsigturm became Berlin’s first high-rise. It may not have been a skyscraper like the American models. It reached a height of 65 metres. Architect Eugen Schmohl created a novelty of Berlin Modernism. Towers previously were not houses. The Wernerwerk tower in Siemensstadt only covered a chimney and water tank. The Borsigturm was a real office building. It housed the administration of Borsig-Werke factory. Borsig-Werke was Europe’s largest manufacturer of locomotives at the time.
Writer Franz Hessel called the Borsigturm a proud belfry of work. The Borsigturm became the landmark of the Borsig-Werke. The inner walls were not load-bearing. The floor plans of the offices could be freely designed. There were smaller units and open-plan offices. The weight of the Borsigturm rests partly on a steel skeleton construction. The facade is made of clinker. The brickwork bears some of the weight of the high-rise.
Schmohl planned nine floors above the base level for offices. He kept the outer facade functional. He combined three storeys each on the outside. He did this by means of three cornices. The windows also formed groups of three.
The two upper floors of the roof structure are in a different style. Schmohl applied brick expressionism to Berlin’s industrial architecture. The facade is jagged and reaches upwards. The roof structure houses a banqueting hall and a water reservoir. This was for the factory premises.
The global economic crisis ended the Borsig-Werke’s independence. Successive owners took over the factory premises in Tegel. The Borsigturm suffered bomb damage during the Second World War. However, it was not destroyed. It remains a high-rise office building to this day. Renovations occurred in the 1970s and 1990s. Then it and the remaining buildings of the Borsig-Werke were listed as historical monuments.
French architect Claude Vasconi developed an urban concept in 1996. This was for the former Borsig premises. Private and public events now take place in the Borsigturm. The former factory halls of the locomotive factory have become a shopping centre.
The Borsigturm stands as a symbol of Berlin’s industrial past. It also represents the city’s architectural innovation. Its unique design and historical significance make it a must-see landmark. The Borsigturm is a reminder of Berlin’s transformation. It went from an industrial powerhouse to a modern metropolis.