Karl-Marx-Allee 102/104 and 126/128 (both on the south side), at the entrance to the Weberwiese underground station and opposite the Kosmos Cinema
Construction period: 1949–1951
Architecture: Ludmilla Herzenstein
Wohnzelle Friedrichshain – These residential buildings in a modernist style first implemented the collective plan
The two six-story terraced buildings in the middle of the first construction phase of Karl-Marx-Allee between Strausberger Platz and Proskauer Straße stand out. Their architecture differs significantly from the surrounding monumental residential blocks with magnificent façades in the National Traditions style.
The two blocks build on the tradition of 1920s New Objectivity architecture. Their characteristic feature is the balcony access to all apartments.
The two terraced buildings were the first to be built on the entire street.
Under the name Wohnzelle Friedrichshain, it became part of the first urban development plan, the ‘collective plan’, that Hans Scharoun, Head of Municipal Planning, developed in 1946 with a working group or planning collective, which included architects Ludmilla Herzenstein and Luise Seitz-Zauleck.
To the south of the two balcony access buildings, there are eight more residential terraces that were part of this early planning phase.