Carl-von-Ossietzky-Secondary School               

Goerschstrasse 42/44, Berlin-Pankow

Listed historic building, 1909-1910, Architect city planner Carl Fenten with Rudolf Klante, Eilert Franzen, sculptural decoration: Hans Schmidt und Franz Pristel  

Client: Pankow District of Berlin - Immobilienservice Hochbau

Planning: Modernization of the school. Survey an inventory drawings of the facades, 1994. Damage assessment, general concept for preservation and investigation of the organisation of spaces, planning and building permits, conversion and modernisation of the sanitary tracts 1996.

History: The neo-renaissance style Imperial Lyceum was built at an immense speed. Started in April 1909, the building was ready for use a year later. The High school for girls held primary classes a half year after opening. In 1911 the "Hoehere Maedchenschule" and a training seminar for female teachers was also held in the buidling. The construction costs amounted to 2 million Marks. It was the largest school complex in Berlin, but it was ignored by the contemporary technical press because of the antiquated architectural language of its form (historism).

The masonry building with a Rapitz-ceiling and stone cladding has rich sculptural decoration with allegorical themes provided from fairy tales and legends. Rich wall paintings (gothic and romanesque style on different floors) were found under later layers of paint. The complex consits of a representative staircase, an auditorium with a heavily modified proscenium and a spectator gallery, which was walled up. Noteworthy is the modern heating and airconditioning design: exhaust air ducts, steam heating with low-pressure chambers that were supplied by district heating and a cross ventilation system (caused by windows along the corridors) and the waste disposal system for the sandwich paper.

Project participants: Construction: Hochbauamt Bezirksamt Pankow, structural design: GSE-Ingenieure, conservators and preservation advice: Alexandra Restaurierungen

Team NM: Olivera Savic-Reuter

Literature: Berlin und seine Bauten, Part 4, Volume C Schools, editor AIV Berlin, 1997, page 8 and 395.