Consuming the “Platte” in East Berlin: The New Popularity of Former GDR Architecture

Abstract

This article is an analysis of the social and cultural relevance of alternative attitudes towards contested architecture. A concrete example is given by the socalled “Plattenbauten” in East Berlin, prefabricated apartment blocks erected during GDR times, many of which are currently reported to be unoccupied. In the media, they are often extremely negatively portrayed and associated with anonymity, criminality, and right-wing radicalism. Despite this, in the late 1990s, living in the “Platte” gained a new kind of popularity when many young designers, architects, and artists decided to live and/or work there.