Siemensstadt Square: The 10-Dimension Hybrid City

An open and technologically pioneering new district is being created on the historic Siemens site in Berlin Spandau, a district that combines architectural quality with a variety of uses and quality of life. A district that radiates far beyond city limits: Siemensstadt Square. The currently closed industrial area of around 73 hectares will be transformed into an open, intelligently networked district – sustainable, resilient, and inclusive. By 2035, around 1 million square meters of floor space for industry, commerce, research and teaching, living, accommodation, and social infrastructure will have been completed. As early as 125 years ago, Siemens opted for a mix of different uses in today’s Siemensstadt, and in addition to industrial buildings that are still listed today, also brought together residential areas, leisure facilities, green spaces, and facilities for teaching and research. A livable and productive district – and this was already known back then – must not be monofunctional, but must combine an array of activities and purposes. As a prototype of a new “hybrid city” in 10 dimensions, Siemensstadt Square will not only unite living and working, leisure and research, but will also seamlessly connect the digital with the analog world. This project of the future uses the potentials of digitization to a unique extent to create a real district that is built and operated sustainably and efficiently, is highly integrative, and is worth living in.

Stefan Kögl studied architecture at Technical University of Braunschweig and completed his graduate degree in 1994. After his first few years as a planning architect, he switched to international project development in 2003, and was also managing director of Metro AG and LBBW Real Estate. His work was focused on Eastern Europe and Turkey until he assumed global responsibility for all Siemens construction projects at Siemens Real Estate in 2010. During this time he implemented around 200 office and factory projects in 25 countries, a number of which won awards. Notable milestones include the planning according to building typologies, sustainability strategy, and the development and implementation of the BIM method as well as other innovative digitization initiatives. Since October 2019, Kögl has been General Manager of the Siemensstadt Square project in Berlin.

The event is part of the lecture series Designed Orders. The lecture will take place on the Westend Campus of Goethe University Frankfurt (HZ 8) and will be held in German.