Along with the Nikolaiviertel, the Klosterviertel is one of Berlin’s oldest neighborhoods. The Klostergärten is a purely residential development comprising 57 condominiums. The building is located between the imposing Parochialkirche and the historic Tietz department store. Incendiary bombs destroyed the church in May 1944. It wasn’t until 2016 that the 300-year-old Parochialkirche regained its impressive copper steeple. The six-story new building is designed to match the eave and ridge heights of the neighboring Tietz building. The design of the sloped roofs is derived from the context of the original development. The building has a U-shaped layout and features a spacious courtyard opening toward the church, combined with a covering for the long fire wall facing the neighboring Tietz building; the orientation toward the church and the spaciousness of the courtyard are further enhanced by the building’s rounded corners. The street-facing appearance was deliberately made more subdued, as there are no other entrances on the street side aside from the striking two-story arched portal.
