The so-called Kudamm-Karree was built on the Kurfürstendamm boulevard in the Charlottenburg district in 1969–74 by the architect Kressmann-Zschach: it included a 20-storey office building in the center of the quarter surrounded by shops and restaurants. The complex also included the auditoriums of the Theater am Kurfürstendamm and Komödie am Kurfürstendamm from the 1920s. Different parts of this building were connected by a complex system of transitions, while the Kudamm-Karree, located in the depths of it, practically did not appear on the facades of the quarter.
Now the entire area of the boulevard, which celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2011 (at the time of its appearance, Kurfürstendamm was one of the axes of the city's expansion to the west), is undergoing a revival: along with investors, representatives of bohemians have moved there from the Mitte area.
The dilapidated Kudamm-Karree attracted the attention of Irish developers who commissioned David Chipperfield to renovate it. The local press calls him a "Prussian British" and notes that his Berlin home is nearby - also in the Charlottenburg area. But despite a good knowledge of the area, the architect had to make significant compromises. Both historic theater halls will be demolished, and only one of them - Komödie am Kurfürstendamm - will receive the new premises: it will face the boulevard (as befits the so-called Berlin theaters on the boulevard), although it will be located on the 3rd floor. During the restructuring, a popular tourist attraction - the Story of Berlin exhibition, which includes a bunker located 10 meters underground - will disappear. The tower, reconstructed in 1995, will remain intact, but a square will be created at its foot, where wide passages from the adjacent streets will lead. A new public space will be created there, surrounded by restaurants and shops, completely rebuilt.
