Kühlhaus Berlin

Yesterday's industrial architecture and the art of tomorrow. The imposing brick building at Gleisdreieck is typical of Berlin: a building left over from the city's industrial past used today as event space. Covering seven storeys and 6,000 m², the Kühlhaus offers space for exhibitions, dance performances, readings, concerts, and plays. Fashion shows, for example, love the Kühlhaus for its popular Berlin look.

Cold storage

At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a growing demand for fresh produce in the heaving metropolis of Berlin. What was Europe's largest cold storage warehouse at the time was opened Luckenwalder Straße, at the same time as the elevated tracks at the Gleisdreieck. Even if the building's exterior might hearken to the typical brick Gothic of the region, it was the epitome of contemporary construction on the inside, with steel skeleton and reinforced concrete.

Even today, the listed building surprises guests with the contrast of an imposing red brick façade and the plain concrete interior with steel beams. After German unification, the Kühlhaus was long in danger of being demolished. But citizens organised to prevent this and instead started its restoration. They intentionally retained the unfinished character of a construction site in order to provide as much open space as possible for new creative impulses.

The Gleisdreieck Neighbourhood

The neighbourhood around Gleisdreieck has developed rapidly in recent years. The newly opened park quickly became a favourite of many Berliners, who come here to lounge in the grass, play a game of basketball, or ride their bicycles. They appreciate it as green space and a place for respite in the heart of the city. A new residential quarter is being built along the edge of the park, turning what once a rather desolate rail junction in the shadow of the Wall into Berlin's latest neighbourhood.