Berlin: Urban Semiotics

James Franklin

Berlin:

Urban

Semiotics

James Franklin

Urban Semiotics

“Berlin is poor, but sexy”

- Klaus Wowereit, Berlin Mayor 2004

From the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification of Germany, Berlin became a vacuum where art and

music flourished; brought about by cheap, undesired accommodation – especially East Berlin – yet

affordable for a young, creative generation, located within one the most historical, grandiose cities on

earth.

The remains of the Berlin Wall are preserved in pockets around the city, bearing the scars of its past yet

conscious to ensure history remains a part of its present. The preservation of history within Berlin is

unlike any city; unrivalled in architecture and is a city profoundly non-conformist.

The longest strip of the Wall is found in Kreuzberg; a former West Berlin district, forgotten by history due

to its close proximity to the divide. The East Side Gallery is a 1.3km stretch of Wall memorialised as a

sanctuary for freedom.

These descriptions symbolise Berlin’s attractiveness, yet the more adoration the city begotten, the more

investment fled into areas deemed ‘poor’ and in need of urban development. Unlike the Berlin districts of

Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and Potsdamer Platz whose transformation conforms to Paris’ 7th

arrondissement, Manhattan New York, Kensington, London.

James Franklin

“We want Berlin to become richer and stay sexy”

- Klaus Wowereit, 2011

The latest wave of gentrification in Kreuzberg - which has seen its neighbours undergo similar processes –

has seen a significant amount of the East Side Gallery demolished – undertaken in the early hours to

avoid protest groups - to pave way for luxury apartments; we see the snowballing of pricey apartments

springing up around Kreuzberg.

Since 2000, rent prices in East Berlin has risen 90% compared to a 40% in the West, displacing many of its

inhabitants unable or unwilling to meet the new demands.

James Franklin

The photos above describe the squat ‘Köpi’, located on Kopenicker strasse, Kreuzberg, enclosed just

metres within the parameters of the old East. Köpi is continuously – and historically - been threatened

with auctioning off for redevelopment. On the 19th February 2013, it marked 23 years of occupation by

left wing activists, a profound symbol of a post-Cold War era.

Yet one wonders its fate; a pocket of anarchists true to their ideology, battling with the rest of the city to

keep in step with the rest of the world’s capital venture. Köpi’s idyllic location is its own downfall, placed

minutes north of Mitte that runs alongside the river Spree; a potential goldmine fiercely resistant to be

exploited.

As Mr Wowereit declared; Berlin is sexy, but will its preserved beauty be compromised by expensive

make-up Berlin’s applying?

James Franklin

Building History

“Berlin is the newest city I have come across. Even Chicago would appear old

and grey in comparison."

- Mark twain, 1892

It seems from the initial settlements of Berlin, things were never static – ideas have always formulated

into action, into creation. The seemingly infinite project of regeneration makes it hard to define the city

succinctly.

The uniqueness of Berlin is its non-conformist approach to the way of doing, the way of being. The

people of the city are more conscious than most as to the developments their city goes through, and

their voices are an ever present of contemporary discourse.

With every building torn down or each stone raised, construction is politicised. The meaning behind

architecture is as relevant now as it was at its birth. After the bombing of World War Two, The Berlin

Palace, or Stadtschloß – former home to the Prussian monarch – was severely damaged and

consequently bulldozed in 1950 by the authorities of East Germany. This came at the expense of protests

from the West which deemed the palace worthy of reconstruction. The symbolic gesture was profound,

the Stadtschloß was a reminder of Prussian imperialism and under communist hands only one outcome

would prevail.

Two decades later in 1973, the Eastern government started construction on ‘The Plast’, the house of

Parliament which lasted the whole tenure of Eastern government. After unification, plans were approved

to demolish The Plast and rebuild the previous landmark, the Stadtschloß. There were a number of

protests around the city and opposition on the east was ubiquitous – declaring The Plast historical,

symbolic to the reunification and a part of Berlin’s culture. Work is planned to begin, but as of now, the

area remains a sandy landscape.

"Berlin is a city condemned forever to becoming and never to being"

- Karl Scheffler 1910

As the photos below depict, previous events of the city lay founded within a space that has moved

forward, yet bringing the past with it.

The first image is a juxtaposition of the remnants of the wall enclaved around the new ideals of

Potsdamer Platz, home to commerce complex - Sony Center. Alongside the slab sat a man, selling

‘approval stamps’ to cross a by-gone checkpoint.

The second describes the Jewish memorial central to the city, with urban development seen in the

distance. The photo summarises a city bringing its past into the future planning of an ever changing

landscape. Surrounding the memorial was an L shaped area of café’s and souvenir shops which we found

ourselves at. Whilst looking around I was stopped by a piece of memorabilia; chunks of rock for sale. It

was die mauer, the wall - the most iconic of ironies.

James Franklin

"Paris is always Paris and Berlin is never Berlin!"

James Franklin