Editing Potsdamer Platz (section)

=== Daimler ===
[[File:Berlin - Potsdamer Platz (3).jpg|thumb|Potsdamer Platz by day]]
[[File:Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, 160606, ako (3).jpg|thumb|Potsdamer Platz at night]]
[[File:Siegessaeule Aussicht 10-13 img3 Potsdamer Platz.jpg|thumb|Potsdamer Platz from distance]]
[[File:View from the Sonycentre, Berlin, Germany (6024402975).jpg|thumb|Left Beisheim Center, right Delbrück-Hochhaus now P5]]
[[File:Zwischenhof.Mall.of.Berlin.jpg|thumb|[[Mall of Berlin]] at [[Leipziger Platz]]]]
[[File:SonyCenterAtNight.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Sony Center]], 2004]]
The largest of the four parts went to [[Daimler-Benz]], who charged Italian architect [[Renzo Piano]] with creating an overall design for their scheme while sticking to the underlying requirements of Hilmer & Sattler's masterplan. A $2 billion development<ref>Ferdinand Protzman (8 February 1994), [https://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/08/business/building-cranes-rule-the-congested-sky-of-berlin.html Building Cranes Rule the Congested Sky of Berlin] ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref> bordering the west side of the former [[Berlin Potsdamer Bahnhof|Potsdamer Bahnhof]] site, some of its 19 individual buildings were then erected by other architects, who submitted their own designs while maintaining Piano's key elements. The primary materials used for the buildings' facades are brick, terra cotta and sandstone, creating hues of beige, soft brown and ocher.<ref name="Companies Join Huge Berlin Project">Ferdinand Protzman (28 November 1994), [https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/28/business/companies-join-huge-berlin-project.html Companies Join Huge Berlin Project] ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref>

The first spade at the start of the Daimler-Benz development was turned by the [[Mayor of Berlin]], [[Eberhard Diepgen]], on 11 October 1993. During construction, the contractors erected a bright red three-story building called the ''Info Box'', where computer graphics help convey the scope of one of the most complex building projects ever attempted; it quickly became a highly popular attraction with thousands of visitors each week.<ref>Stephen Kinzer (12 May 1996), [https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/12/travel/watching-berlin-take-shape.html Watching Berlin Take Shape] ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref>

The finished complex was officially opened by the [[Federal President of Germany]], [[Roman Herzog]], on 2 October 1998, in a glittering ceremony featuring large-scale celebrations and musical performances. The 19 buildings<ref name="Companies Join Huge Berlin Project"/> include the offices of Daimler-Benz themselves (through their former subsidiary ''debis'', whose 21-storey main tower rises to 106 metres and is the tallest building in the new Potsdamer Platz development), also offices of British [[professional services]] company [[PricewaterhouseCoopers]]; ''Berliner Volksbank'' (Germany's largest [[cooperative bank]]) by [[Arata Isozaki]]; a five-star hotel designed by [[Rafael Moneo]] and managed by [[Hyatt]], with 342 rooms and suites;<ref name="Companies Join Huge Berlin Project"/> and the 25-storey, 103-metre-high Potsdamer Platz No. 1, known as the ''Kollhoff Tower'' by architect [[Hans Kollhoff]].

Potsdamer Platz No. 1 also houses the "Panoramapunkt" viewing platform, located 100 m above ground level, which is accessed by riding Europe's fastest elevator (8.65 metres per second). From the Panoramapunkt one can see such landmarks as the [[Brandenburg Gate]], [[Reichstag building|Reichstag]], Federal Chancellery, [[Schloss Bellevue|Bellevue Palace]], Cathedral, Television Tower, [[Gendarmenmarkt|Gendarmes Market]], [[Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe|Holocaust Memorial]] and Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sights – Panorama Point Berlin |url=https://panoramapunkt.de/en/sights/ |website=panoramapunkt.de |publisher=PANORAMAPUNKT Berlin |access-date=2 September 2024}}</ref> The Kollhoff Tower's facade needed major repairs due to water penetration and frost damage just seven years after completion, and was under scaffolding for many months.

The Daimler complex also contains the former [[Weinhaus Huth]], now restored to its former glory and occupied by a restaurant, café, and an exhibition space for Daimler AG's art collection ("Daimler Contemporary"). Across the complex, various artworks from the collection are installed, including pieces by [[Keith Haring]] (''[[The Boxers (sculpture)|Untitled (The Boxers)]]''), [[Mark di Suvero]] (''Galileo''), [[Robert Rauschenberg]] (''The Riding Bikes'') and [[Frank Stella]] (''Prinz Friedrich Arthur von Homburg''). From 2000 until 2010, ''Balloon Flower (Blue)'' (1995–2000) by [[Jeff Koons]] was located at Marlene Dietrich Platz.