Proposal for the use of the gasometers, 1983
Design: Andreas Strozyk (qualified architect), photo: Anneliese Bonitz, Berlin State Archives, C Rep. 711, No. 321
3 Prenzlauer Allee
Gasometer / GDR Technological Museum
In the early 1980s, as part of his diploma dissertation, the architecture student Andreas Strozyk was tasked with developing ideas for repurposing the three gasometers of the disused gasworks on Prenzlauer Allee. The circular floor plan at first appeared predestined for use as a circus, but Strozyk rejected this idea because the space was too small. What followed was a vision for the GDR’s first technological museum. Each of the three former gas containers, themselves historic industrial buildings, was to house one major theme: on land, on water and in the air. The considerable volume and enormous height of the gasometers offered the potential to suspend full-sized aircraft and sailing boats from the ceilings.
“Vehicles can be viewed from the spiral shaped ramps stretching around the shell of the gasometer, aircraft reached via a climbing frame with multiple steps and a gasometer could be filled with water to exhibit ships,” Strozyk wrote. Although the plans were enthusiastically received at their presentation in 1983, they disappeared into a drawer because – despite numerous protests – all three gasometers were blown up in July 1984. They had to make way for the Ernst Thälmann Park estate that was already under construction.
Proposal for the use of the gasometers, 1983
Design: Andreas Strozyk (architect), photo: Anneliese Bonitz
Gasometer detail, 1983
© Andreas Strozyk (architect)
Gasometer dome, 1983
© Andreas Strozyk (architect)
Day of the demolishing of the gasometers, 28 July 1984
© Andreas Strozyk (architect)
Gasometer detail, 1983
© Andreas Strozyk (architect)
Proposal for the use of the gasometers, 1983
Design: Andreas Strozyk (architect), photo: Anneliese Bonitz
Gasometer detail, 1983
© Andreas Strozyk (architect)
Gasometer dome, 1983
© Andreas Strozyk (architect)
Day of the demolishing of the gasometers, 28 July 1984
© Andreas Strozyk (architect)
Gasometer detail, 1983
© Andreas Strozyk (architect)
Proposal for the use of the gasometers, 1983
Design: Andreas Strozyk (architect), photo: Anneliese Bonitz
Gasometer detail, 1983
© Andreas Strozyk (architect)
Gasometer dome, 1983
© Andreas Strozyk (architect)
Day of the demolishing of the gasometers, 28 July 1984
© Andreas Strozyk (architect)
Gasometer detail, 1983
© Andreas Strozyk (architect)
Proposal for the use of the gasometers, 1983
Design: Andreas Strozyk (architect), photo: Anneliese Bonitz
For What If Berlin, Akira Takayama transposes unrealised projects from the archives of the Berliner Festspiele and other Berlin cultural institutions, as well as from architects and artists, into the present and asks us which vision we want to realise in the future.
The future vision for the project Gasometer / GDR Technological Museum, that will be presented in the frame of What If Berlin from 28 August 2026 onwards, will respond to the following question: What if Berlin were to digitally bring the history of its eastern part back to life in Ernst-Thälmann-Park?
Which of the 27 visions for the future is the most exciting? Which project does Berlin need in future? Which idea should actually be realised?
Until 30 September 2026, you can vote for up to three of the 27 visions for the future. The results will be displayed live to give the latest impression of the public’s reactions.