Around a year after breaking ground in September 2025, QUARTERBACK Immobilien AG celebrated the topping-out ceremony for the shell of the Humboldtringgärten in Potsdam. Directly opposite Babelsberg Park, the company is realising a five-storey residential ensemble comprising 214 units. Structural completion of the project, which is being built to the energy-efficient KfW 55 standard, is scheduled for late 2027.
Across a total usable floor area of approximately 11,400 square metres, one- to four-room flats with living spaces between 24 and 110 square metres are being created. All residential units feature their own balcony or terrace. PORR GmbH & Co. KGaA is serving as general contractor, while the design was created by the architectural practice homuth + trappe architekten.
Heritage protection and complex foundations beside a UNESCO World Heritage site
The development site of around 13,000 square metres directly borders the UNESCO World Heritage site Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin. For this reason, construction is concentrated on the street-facing plots along Humboldtring. The sensitive visual axes between the park and the city skyline, as well as the adjacent banks of the Havel, remain untouched. A finely articulated rendered facade in muted tones visually softens the building volume, while a landscaped courtyard is being laid out inside. Municipal urban planning, building control and heritage conservation authorities have worked closely on the project since the land was acquired in 2022.
The location in the Havel lowlands presented civil engineering challenges: due to loose river sands and a high groundwater table, the foundation was constructed on concrete piles, while the basement is designed as a watertight white tank. Parallel to the structural works, QUARTERBACK is managing the site infrastructure development, including the land for a future construction phase. New roads, pavements, sewers and utility lines will be transferred to the ownership of the state capital upon completion.
Urban planning continuity in the Zentrum Ost residential district
The location builds on a historic residential tradition. In the Zentrum Ost residential area, around 2,200 flats were built within three years starting in 1971, supplemented by a good 300 units in later construction phases. Melanie Splichal, branch manager of QUARTERBACK's Berlin-Potsdam office, emphasised during the ceremony that the scheme makes a tangible contribution to local housing supply during a period of sustained shortages.
Attendees at the ceremony included Potsdam's municipal administration head Dieter Jetschmanegg, representing Lord Mayor Noosha Aubel, and Andreas Kimling, regional manager east at PORR. Foreman Michael Richter delivered the traditional carpenter's address as the topping-out wreath was raised.
