Sixty2 West and Sixty2 East

Klosterstrasse is one of the oldest streets in Berlin. In the Middle Ages, the first city wall ran between it and Littenstrasse. It received its present name after the Grey Monastery, founded there in 1271 for the Franciscan order, of which only the ruins of the monastery church remain today. The district was named after the street Klosterviertel. While Klosterstrasse has retained much of its original character, the adjacent Stralauer Strasse has gradually become one of the city centre's most important traffic arteries. The revitalisation and new construction project Sixty2 West and Sixty2 East is located in the historic centre of Berlin on a 4,810 sqm site between Klosterstrasse 62, Stralauer Strasse and Waisenstrasse and is divided into two construction phases. It is developed with two buildings connected by a common staircase, an existing building to the west (construction phase 1) and one to the east (construction phase 2). The heights of the adjoining neighbouring buildings on the street side are taken up; staggered storeys are built on the street side and along the longitudinal and transversal bars. The building at Klosterstrasse 62 was erected in 1967 by the GDR postal service as a high-quality reinforced concrete skeleton structure. For reasons of sustainability, resource conservation, energy- and space-efficient use, and the circular economy, a conscious decision was made against demolition and in favour of respectful revitalisation and conversion. The modernisation process also aims to retain the architectural language of the site, to honour its historical roots, to largely preserve the existing building structure and to complement it in the eastern section with a new building facing Stralauer Strasse. Central for the architects is not only structural but also design sustainability. In the first construction phase, the western part of the building will be developed into a modern office, media and creative location in the course of the revitalisation, a stacked storey for residential use will be added and a 4.5 m wide extension on the courtyard side will be added. In addition, a new L-shaped seven-storey residential building is being built in the existing inner courtyard along the adjacent fire wall to the north, which also serves as a connection to the existing building to the east. A total of 42 residential units of various sizes are planned, one third of which will be barrier-free. In the second construction phase, the existing building to the east will be renovated and also converted into a commercial location. A new inner courtyard will be built on the site, as well as a new office building alongside the street, facing Stralauer Strasse and flanking Waisenstrasse to the east. Another, smaller office building is planned on Waisenstrasse to complete the ensemble.