In the third edition of the Urban Design Hackathon, we are reanimating a world-famous dinosaur: The „Internationales Congress Centrum“ (ICC) Berlin. 

Designed by the Berlin architects Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte, the the 313-metre-long building was already considered one of the largest congress centers in the world. Opened in 1979, it is a landmark of post-war German architecture and the most expensive building in West Berlin. During the nineties it became a requested and prestigious venue, hosting conferences such as the World Bank Meeting in 1988 and the first United Nations Climate Change Conference in 1995.

High operating and refurbishment costs became a threat to ICC’s future, and in April 2014, the complex was closed for renovation and asbestos contamination removal. Interim and new usage proposals have arisen, but there is still no clear architectural and financial concept. The center remains closed as of 2021 and has been listed as heritage since 2019.

Located in the Berlin borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, it stands on an island between highways and bridges. It is, though, directly connected to train station Berlin „Messe Nord/ICC“, which is part of the „Ringbahn“, the railway line circling Berlin’s city area. Due to its expressive high-tech architecture, the ICC was the location for several dystopian movies and is called by Berliners “spaceship” and  “Battleship Charlottenburg”.

In need of an eminent urban transformation, it is time to open up this introverted and car-focused spaceship. A significant area and the focus of the design process is the multi-storey car park at the southern end of the building. Here lies the potential for intervention and an opportunity to reanimate one of the largest and strangest structures of Berlin.