The completion of the Frizz23 building at the southern end of Friedrichstrasse is a milestone in Berlin's real estate policy and shows how sustainable, organic urban development is possible, constructive and successful when local actors and citizens take the initiative. What happens when a city pursues an urban development policy that favors the interests of the people rather than those of the big builders? It creates a new way of designing architecture. This is exactly what happened in Berlin with the Frizz23 building at the southern end of Friedrichstrasse. Many players were after the site around the former flower wholesale market. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and to this day, many galleries, pop-up concepts, retail and social initiatives have settled in this area between Friedrichstrasse and Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum.
Thanks to the efforts of FORUM Berufsbildung, Deadline architects and Miniloft founders Britta Jürgens and Matthew Griffin, and the participation of a group of small investors, the Berlin state government has assigned the three hotly contested properties to the most promising design concept with the greatest benefit for the population.
Frizz23 combines education, creative industries and spaces for temporary living.
The five floors in the west block with a view of Friedrichstrasse offer rooms for seminars and other events and are also the new headquarters of the Berlin newspaper TAZ. The seven-storey tower to the east, which houses our Minilofts Kreuzberg and the Café, connects the entire structure with Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz square. In between is the Mittelbau, the middle building, which houses small creative studios. The floor plans of these rooms are designed according to the needs of the individual residents and for mixed use, and range from small studios and open-space offices to three-floor units.
Frizz23 not only offers a new concept for community architecture that is oriented towards the interests of users, but also gives its users a very special overview of the history of Berlin in the 20th century. The residential buildings from the 60s and 70s and the postmodern buildings of the Berlin IBA 1987, the striking residential tower of John Hejduk, the colorful windows of the Rocket Tower by Sauerbruch-Hutton, the skyscrapers on Leipziger Strasse, Axel Springer's sparkling skyscraper and the iconic tv tower on Alexanderplatz.
The Tagesspiegel visited us, walked through the building and interviewed Miniloft arquitect and founder Matthew Griffin.
Frizz23 building - Home to Miniloft Kreuzberg Apartment Hotel
