by Carolin Kralapp // Dec. 8, 2025
This summer, a TikTok video caused a huge outcry online—at least in my corner of the internet. In the short video, a young German influencer expressed her desire to have grown up in a Berlin prefabricated building, a “Plattenbau,” rather than in a large house with her own bathroom. Her assertion that these buildings fostered solidarity and community was criticized for romanticizing the situation and overlooking the poverty and existential fears experienced by many residents. Indeed, looking back, I mostly associated Plattenbau with grey, dreary housing estates synonymous with poverty and crime—themes widely present in German rap lyrics. But were these views too simplistic?
Das Minsk Kunsthaus in Potsdam addresses this question in its comprehensive exhibition ‘Wohnkomplex: Art and Life in Plattenbau,’ which explores the architecture, lifestyle and social meaning of these buildings from the GDR era. Spanning two floors with about 50 works, the show explores Plattenbau as a living space, social utopia and a canvas for social change.
Uwe Pfeifer: ‘Durchgang in Halle Neustadt,’ 1971, Brandenburgisches Landesmuseum für Moderne Kunst // VG-BildKunst Bonn, 2025, photo by Thomas Kläber
Following the Second World War, a shortage of over a million homes emerged in the area that would, just three years later, become the GDR. This led to an urgent search for a modern, cost-effective and industrialized construction method. Plattenbau, a method of constructing buildings from storey-high precast concrete elements, provided the solution and became very popular in the GDR. The new flats were in high demand when they were built, offering affordable rents and amenities such as running hot and cold water, central heating, a toilet and a bathtub. Plattenbau buildings played a significant role in presenting the GDR as a modern state and became symbols of modernity and innovation. They were at their most popular in the 1970s and 1980s, which is the period in which the Potsdam exhibition is set.
Markus Draper: ‘Grauzone [Gray Zone],’ detail, 2015, installation view of the exhibition ‘Wohnkomplex: Art and Life in Plattenbau,’ DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam 2025, private collection, Cologne // Photo by Jens Ziehe
The exhibition opens with Markus Draper’s ‘Grauzone’ (Grey Zone), a model of the Plattenbau landscape in East German cities. These buildings once served as hiding places for Red Army Faction (RAF) terrorists, with their anonymity offering shelter for a decade until their discovery in 1990. Alongside political history, the exhibition exposes deeply personal memories. Sabine Moritz’s drawings and paintings recall her childhood in Jena-Lobeda, capturing the atmosphere of 1980s life in a newly developed neighborhood. These works emphasize both the ordinariness and individuality of life in large anonymous blocks.
Sabine Moritz: installation view of the exhibition ‘Wohnkomplex: Art and Life in Plattenbau’ at DAS MINSK Kunsthaus in Potsdam 2025 // Private collection, courtesy of Studio Sabine Moritz, Cologne, photo by Jens Ziehe
Berlin’s Marzahn district, captured by Gisela Kurkhaus-Müller in a graphic, reflects efforts by residents to personalize identical balconies—adding plants, laundry lines and decorative bricks—hinting at the quest for individuality amidst uniformity. Marzahn was the biggest Plattenbau development in the GDR with over 150,000 residents at its peak. The renaming of local streets, such as Allee der Kosmonauten (Cosmonauts’ Avenue), alludes to the ideological aspirations that infused the urban landscape.
Gisela Kurkhaus-Müller: ‘Marzahn,’ 1982, Museum Utopie und Alltag (Bestand Beeskow) // © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025, photo by Thomas Kläber
On the upper floor, works by Kurt Dornis and photographer Sibylle Bergemann focus on the interiors of Plattenbau apartments. Dornis’ painting ‘Zweite Schicht’ (Second Shift) looks from the living room into the kitchen through a then-modern serving hatch, a feature intended to facilitate domestic equality—though, as the photo series ‘P2‘ of several living spaces in a residential complex in Berlin-Lichtenberg by Bergemann reveals, these openings often became shelves rather than points of connection. These interiors reflect not only everyday life but also shifting roles and emancipation in the 1960s, as more women entered the workforce and home life adapted in response. The serving hatch was also intended to encourage men to help out with the housework. While the idea was admirable, it unfortunately remained utopian at that time.
Kurt Dornis: ‘Zweite Schicht [Second Shift],’ 1986, Albertinum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden // © Kurt Dornis, photo by Elke Estel/Hans-Peter Klut
Although the construction of big Plattenbau housing complexes largely ceased after German reunification, these buildings remain an integral part of everyday life, particularly in former East Germany. Statistics today show that these housing estates tend to have higher rates of poverty and social disadvantage, reflecting economic shifts since reunification. The cultural perception of Plattenbau has changed, too: whereas they were once seen as symbols of progress and modernity, they are now often associated with social decline, particularly in Western narratives.
Sibylle Bergemann: ‘P2 (Berlin-Lichtenberg, Apartment Block Living Room)’ photo series, 1981/2017 // Estate Sibylle Bergemann/OSTKREUZ, courtesy of LOOCK, Berlin
Ultimately, the exhibition challenges visitors, including those born and raised in West Germany like myself, to reconsider their prejudices and develop empathy for the realities and complexities of Plattenbau life. With a carefully balanced gender selection among the artists, it presents a diverse range of perspectives that enrich this reflection. A well-designed and accessible audio guide further deepens the experience, allowing visitors to engage more profoundly with the artworks and their contexts. In doing so, the exhibition invites us to consider the social and political history embedded in these concrete structures, encouraging a more nuanced understanding of a much-maligned architectural form.
Exhibition Info
Das Minsk
Group Show: ‘Wohnkomplex: Art and Life in Plattenbau’
Exhibition: Sept. 6, 2025-Feb. 8, 2026
dasminsk.de
Max-Planck-Straße 17, 14473 Potsdam, click here for map
