Eternit building, Architectural heritage monument in Hansa quarter, Berlin.

The Eternit building (Interbau object no. 25) is a 54.75 m long, 9.25 m wide and 9.10 m high residential block by Paul Baumgarten at Altonaer Straße 1 in the Hansaviertel, built in 1957 as a reinforced concrete cross-wall structure clad in fibre-cement panels. Its largely glazed ground floor was an exhibition space, while the two upper storeys hold maisonettes reached by an external walkway; a continuous band of windows runs along the first floor, and the pavilion-like top storeys with mono-pitch roofs are interrupted by roof terraces.

Paul Baumgarten designed the Eternit building in 1957 for the Interbau exhibition, commissioned by Eternit AG Deutschland. It is a reinforced concrete structure in cross-wall construction, 54.75 metres long, 9.25 metres wide and 9.10 metres high. The largely glazed ground floor served as exhibition space, while the two upper floors held maisonette flats reached by an outside walkway.

The building demonstrates post-war German housing through its material choices and spatial arrangement. The seven maisonette apartments with studios on the top floor shaped the neighborhood and reveal how residents were meant to live in the city at that time.

The building is best viewed from outside since it contains private apartments and interiors are not freely accessible. Visitors can walk around the site to see the architecture from different angles and appreciate the facade and roof shapes.

Each apartment covers about 95 square meters and spans two levels with private rooftop terraces instead of traditional gardens. This was an innovative response to the scarcity of green space in densely built post-war neighborhoods.