Funkytown
The Next Episode
WWelcome to Funkytown. The new creative quarter, which overlooks the Spree, Plänterwald, and the neighbouring Funkhaus in Nalepastraße as well as the city skyline, stands for the revitalization of a legendary East German spot: For almost 30 years, the GDR youth radio station DT64 broadcast culture and hits, debates and art into the homes of an entire generation from BLOCK-E on Rummelsburger Landstraße.
BLOCK-E — a place with memories and emotions. It will remain and form the heart of Funkytown. In addition, eight modern buildings will be constructed over the next few years, which will be home to culture, education, accommodation, and social facilities. Eight new STATIONS, infinite reach.
I Follow Rivers
DThe potential offered by the location, significance and surroundings is unique in Berlin and Germany, perhaps even worldwide. The area around Nalepastraße is familiar to all former GDR citizens and has gained an emotional significance over the decades. People have been living culture, making music and working creatively in the Funkhaus for half a century.
The urban energy is framed by the Spree and Bullenbruch island, where many trees skirt the water and lean into it. The feeling of the idyll: carefree, boundless, energizing. Without barriers in your head, without boundaries in your thoughts, without hurdles in your heart. Funkytown already has all this in its name: Awakening, rhythm, and radio history on the one hand – people, change and metropolis on the other. When mental groove and metropolitan lifestyle come together, your gaze wanders not only to the skyline of Berlin, but beyond it. There is more beyond the horizon.
- Developments
- Education
- Culture
- Culinary
- Daily Needs
- Traffic
- Developments
- Education
- Culture
- Culinary
- Daily Needs
- Traffic
There are many ways to get to Funkytown. From the train stations Ostkreuz or Rummelsburg, Funkytown can be reached in a few minutes by tram 21 or from the train station Baumschulenweg by ferry F11. The on-demand BVG service Muva is also available in the Treptow-Köpenick district. Muva transports passengers on demand and uses bus stops and additional stops at pick-up and destination points. There is also an all-day private campus shuttle with an electric bus as well as the option to travel to the district individually with scooters, share cars, or bikes.
For the future, the district is planning investments in the traffic axis towards the city center and BER airport as well as the integration of the river Spree as a traffic route. For this purpose, the use of additional ferries and water taxis is being examined.
Remember tomorrow
DMemory is internal, personal, and individual. Every memory is different, sometimes flourishing, sometimes fragile, sometimes growing, sometimes fading, but always essential. We want to remember, to preserve images, thoughts, and stories. To this end, we are creating a place that lives from history and builds on it, that creates something new from memory: a city that pours the inside into the outside. Appreciative, connecting, and vibrant: Funkytown.
The impulse to found DT64 was also a real superlative: On May 19, 1964, the Deutschlandtreffen der Jugend broadcast for 99 hours straight and thus became the voice of GDR youth overnight. The former Block-E became a symbol of East German identification and quoted itself as “power from the Eastside” – a hype was born, made in Treptow-Köpenick. Shows such as Hitglobus, Mischmasch and Dr. Kaos were an integral part of the daily schedule – until the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The upheaval in 1989 was at the same time a media awakening with new opportunities in the reunified city. New sounds and movements such as techno and house played an important role at DT64 early on with shows by Marco Lopez and Marusha.
In 1991, the DT64 hit caravan traveled through Germany to save the station from its end. A large, emotional wave of protest in East and West connected and continues to connect people to this day. In October 1991, superstar David Bowie came to Berlin and campaigned for its preservation. But without success. The end of the station in mid-1993, with the renaming to Sputnik and the move to Halle, left a huge void in the hearts of an entire generation.
WOne thing that is easily forgotten in all the East German nostalgia: BLOCK-E has been empty for exactly as long as it has been in use. Its neglect is also part of its history. "Wende" kids only associate the cult site with a skeleton of ruins and only know the spirit from YouTube documentaries. It is time for transformation. Funkytown should therefore build on identity and create a new one, filling the empty concrete with new stories. Generation Berlin is international and creative, thinks fast and digitally, shows awareness and attitude. Funkytown shares these values and opens its doors – for the experienced, the innovators, for North, South, East, and West.
New Kiez on
the Block
DBuilt in the early 1960s, the reinforced concrete building is a classic and needs no introduction to Berliners. The former DT64 headquarters still attracts attention and arouses the interest of Brutalism fans. The five-storey block is not only imposing from afar, but there are also treasures of history waiting inside: the raw concrete remains deliberately untouched, even graffiti from the past decades has been preserved, giving it its honest character. The spacious existing building forms the basis for a modern vibe in unusually cool surroundings. Combined with new materials, glazed fronts and a contemporary interior, the former news and foreign policy department will be transformed into innovative work lofts.
Those who work here create reach and breathe German history – architecturally too. The striking supports, previously leading elements for narrow hallways, give structure to the gutted floors and allow flexible use of up to 425 m² per area.
The view of the green surroundings or the Funkhaus help find balance in the daily routine, as do the gastronomic offerings on the first floor, and the shared roof terrace with sunrise and sunsets included. Can you rethink a classic? Yes, by making it an icon.
NFollowing the refurbishment of BLOCK-E, the focus is now on something new. The eight modern STATIONS will be used for a variety of purposes: from culture, education, accommodation, and social facilities to restaurants, co-working and retail space. The T of DT64 stands for meeting and is also embedded in the Town concept. The arrangement of old buildings and innovation, BLOCK-E and STATIONS is designed to promote dialogue: cultural and social hubs are created in the outdoor areas, open to the outside and inside ... for people to feel, talk, dance, and meet. To ensure that this diversity is also visible to the outside world, it is already part of the architectural concept. Each STATION will be planned and individually designed by a different Berlin architectural firm according to the urban planning concept of KSP Engel Berlin. KSP Engel will coordinate and design the central building of the eight stations. This allows for a creative mix, colorful ideas, and funk in the city.
Take Me to the Place I Love
BBLOCK-E offers the perfect starting point for creating new workspaces with plenty of freedom. Entire floors are available or just parts of a gutted floor: flexible use of space from approx. 370 m² to 9,000 m² is possible.
What gives all rooms a special atmosphere are the original concrete walls, many windows facing sunrise or sunset and the striking architecture. There is also a restaurant on the ground floor, lots of light from new windows in the basement and a roof terrace intended for working and relaxing.
Nice to Meet You
The letting of BLOCK-E is on!
Below you can find documents with further information, floor plans and features.
Feel free to send us a message or call our letting team directly:
- Judit Ben Dor
- Head of Letting
Bright. Broad. Berlin.
