My Time as Project Manager for the Reichstag renovation in Berlin: Book 4

By Frank Furneisen

1994 until 1999 Project Manager for the Rebuilding of the Reichstag as the German Parliament in Berlin

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books on Demand
• Release date: Jun 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9783744822527

Frank Furneisen

Education and study of Architecture in Berlin. After 1 year in Pforzheim working for an Architect employed until 1968 in Zurich as Project Manager in an Office working on Industrial Projects.1968 until 1978 in Mexico City as an Architect. Master Of Architecture degree at the University of Houston.

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My Time as Project Manager for the Reichstag renovation in Berlin

Titelseite

Introduction

Back in Germany

Friedrichstadt Passage

At the Berlin Federal Construction Company

The Reichstag

The Reichstag Building Site

The Planning Phase

Structural Implementation of Planning Concepts

Copyright

Frank Fürneisen

My time as project manager for the Berlin Reichstag renovation

Translated from the German by

James Buschman

Introduction

and the decision to return to Germany

I spent the years between 1990 and 2005 in Germany, specifically in Berlin. It was the most challenging time of my career. Approximately six years ago, however, I returned toHouston, Texas. My parter Anna works and lives there, and my married daughter Nicole lives around three hoursʼ drive away in Austin, Texas. They were the reason I returned from Germany.

In 1989, I witnessed on television the reunification of the two divided halves of Germany. As a Berlin native, I considered this one of the greatest events of my life. Though I would never have expected to experience this reunification, it had finally occurred. The images of happy people coming over from East to West are still fresh in my memory. It was clear to me at that time that I needed to return to Germany.

On November 9, 1989,the Berlin Wall came down, and just one month later I flew to Berlin to see my mother, who lived in West Berlin’s Steglitz suburb with her partner Paul.

I drove to the wall with my friend Horst and his wife Irmi.

In the West Berlin Heiligensee quarter, we witnessed an improvised East German band playing with a West German police band. Strangers embraced one another. My friend Horst happened to encounter a cousin, who joined us with his family as we reached the wall.

Then I absolutely had to visit a larger section of the Berlin Wall, so we went to the Märkisches Viertel section on the West Berlin side of the wall. Of course, I wanted to bring a souvenir piece of the wall back to Houston. I had purchased a flat chisel for this purpose, and I tried to use it to chip pieces from the wall.

Standing next to me, a boy of around 12 was having much better success with his chiseling than I was.

I asked him how he managed do this. He explained that his chisel had a pointed headthat allowed him to break off pieces with just a few strokes.

My friend Horst then secured a pointed chisel that enabled me to take a great many small pieces of the wall back with me to Houston.

Later I once again visited the Berlin-Steglitz home of my mother and her partner Paul, and I told them of my encounters.

This extremely brief trip in December 1989 was a very formative experience for me. I could envision that there would be a great many opportunities following reunification for architects and construction managers.

As it later turned out, my assessment was in fact completely correct.

Back in Germany

Departure from Houston, at Kronenhaus in Darmstadt, with Philipp Holzmann in Berlin and spatial planning in Berlin

Igave most of my pieces of the wall to a German broadcasting office in Houston, which awarded them to the highest bidders in its annual fundraising event.

I was firmlyset on returning to Germany, and I had to take care of a lot of personal matters that included renting my residence and selling devices that I would not be able to use in Germany.

Returning to Germany on September 15, 1990, I initially worked at an architectural office of the Kronenhaus firm in Darmstadt. It was primarily involved in new single-family housing construction but was nevertheless very interested in developing properties in the former East Germany.

Together with the Kronenhaus owners, we therefore frequently conducted visits of several weeks each to Leipzig, Dresdenand Cottbus, looking for favorable properties to acquire from the governmental trust known as the Treuhandagency, which had the function of disposing of real estate formerly owned by the East German government. This was not very easy, however, since many easterners believed we were out to take advantage of them. We finally managed to purchase a property in Cottbus and formulate ideas about its use. My heart was often in Berlin, however, and I therefore looked for a new position that would take me there again.

In 1991 I finally found one, workingfor the Philipp Holzmann firm as director of a new construction project.

We were similarly involved in finding real estate in the former East Berlin where we could construct offices and residences. These activities were unfortunately not very fruitful, but it was more important for me to be back in Berlin.

My mother was very pleased about my return, and I was likewise happy to be able to visit her often. Although the topic of Berlin’s potential opportunities was constantly under discussion in the media, not much was stirring at that time. Understandably, theSenate of Berlinhad no interest in disjointed new construction, promoting instead preliminary discussions with many architects regarding a new spatial structure. A forum was established to explore these developmental options.

Friedrichstadt Passage

At Arc Union, planning, marketing, the investors, demolition, groundbreaking, excavation, shell construction and expansion

The largest top-priority development projects in Berlin was the renovation of the Friedrichstadt Passage in Berlin’s eastern half. Its purpose was to send a signal that it is possible to allow many investors to work with many architects under one roof.

This object was of great interest to me. I found one investor’s job advertisement in a newspaper. While I was thinking about this opportunity, I learned that it involved the French firm Arc Union Deutschland, which had established a branch in Berlin to develop the project.

Arc Union sent two French architects, JeanMichel and Olivier, to Berlin. Both were highly qualified and spoke quite good German. They were looking