FranzMehring Platz is being developed as an inviting and multifunctional town square for the entire district between Ostbahnhof and Karl-Marx-Allee. A social, multifunctional, and urban centre is created, a place of exchange for the entire quarter. The square becomes the address for the FMP1 and creates an identity for the otherwise heterogeneous urban district.
The Franz-Mehring-Platz is currently characterized by the linear structure of the 8-storey FMP1 and the flowing traffic of the street of the Pariser commune. A lively landscape creates a countermovement across the square. The models play with the given height difference from the building entrance of the FMP1 to the surroundings and standout against the street of the Pariser Commune with a shallow embankment. The traffic is taken out of the square area, inwards there are open lawns and meadows. A scenic framework and an urban centre are created as a counter-world to the surrounding street space. The resulting lawn and meadow dunes refer to the historical shape of Küstriner Platz. Currently paved areas will be unsealed in favour of ecologically effective areas. Franz Mehring Square will become a central steppingstone in a desired green connection from the Spree via the St. Petri Cemetery to the public park Friedrichshain.
Along the street space, there are worked out visual references to the FMP1. The building is given an address in the cityscape. The visitor is led to the forecourt and to the FMP1 through spacious entrances from north and south. The models spatially support the directions of movement. All modeled dunes open to the square and the building. The northern lawn dune invites you to sunbathe, play, laze around or have a picnic in the light shade. Seat edges in the lawn area can also be used as grandstand steps for events on the forecourt. The southern meadow dunes with their robust mixture of wildflowers cover the square and, in addition to the ecological diversity and urban climatic advantages, also bring a colorful accent to the Franz-Mehring-Platz all year round. The dunes form spaces for communication and relaxation. Orientation and insight are maintained from all sides. Seating walls along the lawn and meadow dunes guide the visitor into the square and create room edges. The low walls become a meeting place and a place for communication but are also a place for a lunch break or an enjoyable book.
The forecourt is kept spacious and open as an urban centre. It offers space for temporary events such as concerts, summer festivals or art exhibitions. The square is also a platform for media events and political education. This makes it even more important to understand the square as a public part of the entire city quarter, as a space for residents.
With its turbulent history, Franz-Mehring-Platz will not only be a quiet 'history path' but also a space for action. Historical events engraved and memorable in the surface arouse curiosity and reveal different layers. All topics are covered, from horticulture to the history of the former train station and the connection to the east, the variety theatre, and the takeover by the National Socialists to liberation by the Red Army and the history of the publishing house.However, the modern design offers space to keep history alive through exchange, communication, and events and to educate visitors historically and politically.
