The Modern Berlin Block: Spatial Evolution of a Typology through the 20th Century

The urban block did not completely disappear from the practice of urban design with the turn of the 20th century and the rise of modernist avant-garde in architecture. Many blocks built in Berlin throughout the last century prove the truth of this statement. This paper retraces this modern development of the Berlin block. Firstly, it presents reformed urban blocks built between the 1890s and the 1930s. Secondly, it summarizes the major occurrences that marked a crisis of the spatiality of the Berlin block by the mid-20th century. Thirdly, it explores the most remarkable contributions to the architectural debate of the 1970s that brought about a rediscovery of the spatiality of the traditional city. Then, it takes a closer look at the outcomes of this debate by focusing on the blocks designed for the International Building Exhibition IBA Berlin 1987. Finally, this paper draws a comparison between Berlin’s reformed urban blocks and IBA blocks. In retrospect, numerous parallels can be drawn between them. For example, they both proposed similar spatial novelties and provided new relations between public and private spheres within the perimeter of the block. This paper sheds light on two important phases in Berlin’s architecture and on their analogies, which are often overlooked. These insights remain significant for the ongoing debate on the future of Berlin and of other European cities.