Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER)
Willy-Brandt-Platz, 12529 Schoenefeld, Germany
The terminal's architectural form changed less than its delivery plan. Fire and smoke-control defects became the best-known problem, but the nine-year delay also involved design changes, permitting, wiring, other construction defects, and repeated management turnover.
What got built
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What changed
- Construction of the U-shaped main terminal, designed by gmp Architekten (the same firm behind Tegel Airport's Terminal A), began September 5, 2006, targeting an opening on October 30, 2011.
- A mandatory fire-protection acceptance test failed, and major defects were documented in the smoke-control system. This was a central cause of delay, not the sole cause of the airport's nine-year postponement.
- The documented problems also included design changes, permitting issues, wiring and cabling defects, thermal insulation, and broader construction and management failures.
- Terminal 1 ultimately retained the recognizable gmp architectural concept, despite extensive technical corrections and project changes before opening.
- After repeated postponements and leadership changes, Terminal 1 opened for commercial traffic on October 31, 2020. Independent opening coverage placed construction at roughly €7 billion; higher figures require a separately defined all-in scope and are not used here as the final construction cost.
Why it changed
The nine-year delay resulted from a combination of fire and smoke-control failures, design and permitting changes, wiring and other construction defects, and repeated management problems. No single failed acceptance test accounts for the full delay.
Details
- Status
- Built, and it follows the rendering.
- Where
- Schoenefeld, Germany
- Neighborhood
- Schoenefeld, south of Berlin
- Developer
- Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH (owned by the federal government, Berlin, and Brandenburg)
- Architect
- gmp Architekten (von Gerkan, Marg and Partners), designers of Terminal 1
- Rendering credit
- gmp Architekten (von Gerkan, Marg and Partners)
- The built result
- Photographed by Arne Müseler, 2019-11-14
Sources
- Wikipedia: Berlin Brandenburg Airport en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia: Construction of Berlin Brandenburg Airport en.wikipedia.org
- New Civil Engineer: Problem-hit Berlin Airport finally opens nine years late newcivilengineer.com
- Airport Technology: Berlin Brandenburg Airport, a construction timeline airport-technology.com
- Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg: official publications and annual reports corporate.berlin-airport.de
- Berlin Brandenburg Airport: official operating site ber.berlin-airport.de
Research checked . Status and figures are updated when a source changes.
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