Studentendorf Schlachtensee eG

Studentendorf Schlachtensee eG is a Berlin-based housing cooperative focused on accommodation for students, academics, and international scholars. Founded in 2002, it emerged from a civic and student-led effort to prevent the sale and possible redevelopment of the historic Studentendorf Schlachtensee in southwestern Berlin. The cooperative acquired the property in 2003 and subsequently became responsible for restoring and operating the post-war modernist complex as a student village rather than replacing it with conventional or luxury housing. The cooperative manages more than 1,300 residential units across three Berlin locations: the original Studentendorf Schlachtensee, Studentendorf Adlershof, and the International Center for Scholars in Berlin, commonly known as IBZ Berlin. Its housing portfolio includes individual apartments and shared flats serving both German and international residents. In addition to providing accommodation, the organization presents its residences as intercultural communities, with shared facilities, social programming, and tutor-supported activities intended to encourage interaction among residents from different countries and academic backgrounds. Studentendorf Schlachtensee is central to the cooperative's identity. Planned in the context of West Berlin's post-war democratic reconstruction, the village was designed by Hermann Fehling, Daniel Gogel, and Peter Pfankuch. Its first 13 houses were constructed between 1959 and 1964 with a campus-like arrangement of buildings, open green areas, and communal spaces. The project was supported by American public and philanthropic funding, including Marshall Plan-related assistance and the Ford Foundation, and was conceived as an international academic community sometimes described as a “Harvard on the Wannsee.” The site later became associated with the West Berlin student movement and the extra-parliamentary opposition of the 1960s. After German reunification, however, the complex lost much of its former political significance and faced serious maintenance problems. Berlin's planned disposal of the site in the late 1990s triggered opposition from residents, former residents, students, architects, and heritage advocates. The resulting “Save the Student Village” campaign helped create the cooperative and build support for a preservation-led acquisition. The cooperative began monument-compliant renovation in 2006. In 2009, it transferred ownership of the land to the Swiss pension fund CoOpera Sammelstiftung PUK while retaining a 99-year hereditary building right. This financing structure was intended to fund restoration while leaving the cooperative in control of operations, resident life, and the site's educational and social purpose. The organization also took over management of IBZ Berlin in 2009 and opened Studentendorf Adlershof in October 2014 on the Humboldt University campus. As a service cooperative, Studentendorf Schlachtensee eG is governed through members who may include residents, employees, and supporters. The general assembly elects the supervisory board, while the supervisory board appoints and oversees the executive board. Its statutory purpose emphasizes intercultural, dialogue-oriented, and democratic coexistence among students and young academics from around the world. The cooperative therefore combines housing management, heritage conservation, and community programming rather than operating solely as a conventional residential landlord.

Studentendorf Schlachtensee was created during the political and cultural reconstruction of West Berlin after the Second World War. The Free University of Berlin had been established as a democratic alternative to Humboldt University in East Berlin, and the student village was intended to provide more than accommodation: it was designed as a living environment based on freedom, community, and international understanding. American government support connected with the Marshall Plan, together with assistance from the Ford Foundation, helped make the project possible. Architects Hermann Fehling, Daniel Gogel, and Peter Pfankuch designed a campus-like complex that departed from Berlin's traditional perimeter-block housing. Loosely arranged buildings, landscaped open space, and communal facilities were intended to encourage social interaction. Thirteen houses were built between 1959 and 1964. The project was promoted as an international academic setting, sometimes characterized as a “Harvard on the Wannsee.” During the 1960s, the village became an important setting for West Berlin student politics. Its residents included students from Germany and abroad, and its communal environment supported discussion of social and political issues. The complex became associated with the extra-parliamentary opposition and the protests of 1968, giving it a place in the modern history of West Berlin beyond its function as a residence. Following reunification, the site's political importance diminished in the eyes of Berlin's administration. Maintenance costs rose, buildings deteriorated, and the public authorities considered selling the property through Berlin's real estate disposal agency. A sale in the late 1990s was widely understood by opponents as a threat to the heritage-listed buildings and their original student-oriented use. Several houses were vacated and fell into disrepair. Residents, the student self-administration, former residents, architects, and conservationists organized against the proposed disposal. Their campaign, known as “Rettet das Studentendorf!” or “Save the Student Village,” generated public pressure and eventually led to the formation of Studentendorf Schlachtensee eG on May 15, 2002. The cooperative's purpose was to acquire the entire complex, preserve it according to heritage requirements, and restore it as an international student community. Negotiations with Berlin's property authorities began in the cooperative's founding year. The cooperative completed the purchase in 2003 and started bringing unused buildings back into operation. A comprehensive monument-compliant renovation program began in 2006. To address the high cost of restoring the listed complex, the cooperative used a long-term property arrangement in 2009: the land was sold to the Swiss pension fund CoOpera Sammelstiftung PUK, while the cooperative retained a 99-year hereditary building right. This arrangement supported investment without transferring control of daily operations or the community's social mission. The organization expanded its housing activities beyond Schlachtensee. In 2009 it assumed management of IBZ Berlin, an accommodation center for international scholars in Wilmersdorf. In October 2014 it opened Studentendorf Adlershof on the Humboldt University campus. The new site applied elements of the Schlachtensee model to contemporary student housing and strengthened the cooperative's presence in Berlin's academic market. Studentendorf Schlachtensee eG operates as a service cooperative. Residents, employees, and supporters can participate as members by acquiring cooperative shares. The general assembly is the highest governing body, electing a supervisory board that appoints and monitors the executive board. This structure is intended to keep the enterprise aligned with its statutory objective: intercultural, dialogue-oriented, and democratically organized coexistence among students and young academics from around the world. The cooperative's activities consequently combine several functions. It manages residential units, maintains and renovates a nationally significant example of post-war architecture, and organizes social and cultural activities. Tutor programs, workshops, excursions, festivals, and other events support interaction among residents. With more than 1,300 units across three Berlin locations, the organization remains both a housing provider and a heritage-based international meeting place.

• 2014

  Studentendorf Adlershof opens

  [1]Studentendorf Schlachtensee eGen.wikipedia.org

  The cooperative opened a new student village on the Humboldt University campus in Adlershof.

• 2009

  Long-term land and building-right arrangement established

  [1]Studentendorf Schlachtensee eGen.wikipedia.org

  The cooperative sold the land to CoOpera Sammelstiftung PUK and retained a 99-year hereditary building right to support restoration financing and operational continuity.

• 2009

  IBZ Berlin management begins

  [1]Studentendorf Schlachtensee eGen.wikipedia.org

  The cooperative expanded its activities by managing the International Center for Scholars in Berlin.

• 2006

  Heritage restoration program starts

  [1]Studentendorf Schlachtensee eGen.wikipedia.org

  Monument-compliant renovation began at the historic complex.

• 2003

  Property acquired by the cooperative

  [1]Studentendorf Schlachtensee eGen.wikipedia.org

  The cooperative purchased the Studentendorf Schlachtensee complex and began restoring vacant residential buildings to use.

• 2002

  Studentendorf Schlachtensee eG is founded

  [1]Studentendorf Schlachtensee eGen.wikipedia.org

  The cooperative was formed on May 15 after a preservation campaign opposing the threatened sale and redevelopment of the student village.

• 1964

  Original 13-house complex completed

  [1]Studentendorf Schlachtensee eGen.wikipedia.org

  The initial group of 13 houses was completed, establishing the village's campus-like residential and communal layout.

• 1959

  Construction of the first student village houses begins

  [1]Studentendorf Schlachtensee eGen.wikipedia.org

  The first phase of the post-war modernist Studentendorf Schlachtensee was constructed according to plans by Hermann Fehling, Daniel Gogel, and Peter Pfankuch.

A cooperative provider of student and scholar housing that differentiates itself through intercultural community-building, democratic resident participation, and the preservation of a listed post-war modernist architectural ensemble.

• Student housing and heritage residential community · 1959

  Studentendorf Schlachtensee

  The cooperative's namesake residence in southwestern Berlin is a historically significant post-war modernist student village. It provides apartments and shared living arrangements within a landscaped campus with communal facilities. Its operation is closely connected to the preservation of the listed architectural ensemble and to a program of intercultural events, resident participation, and academic community-building.

• Student housing · 2014

  Studentendorf Adlershof

  Opened in 2014 on the Humboldt University campus, Studentendorf Adlershof extends the communal and international housing concept associated with Schlachtensee. It serves students in the Adlershof academic environment and forms part of the cooperative's broader portfolio of purpose-oriented residences in Berlin.

• Academic and scholar accommodation · 2009

  International Center for Scholars (IBZ Berlin)

  IBZ Berlin provides residential accommodation for international scholars and academics. Studentendorf Schlachtensee eG has managed the center under a management agreement since 2009, complementing its student-housing activities with a facility focused on visiting researchers and academic exchange.

• Resident services and community programming

  Intercultural community program

  Tutor-supported activities, workshops, excursions, festivals, and other social events are organized across the cooperative's locations. These services are intended to encourage dialogue among residents from different countries and make intercultural exchange a practical part of everyday housing rather than an incidental benefit.

• 2000Rettet das Studentendorf! / Save the Student Village

  Berlin · Germany

  Residents, student representatives, former residents, architects, and heritage advocates campaigned against Berlin's plan to sell the deteriorating Studentendorf Schlachtensee. The campaign argued for preserving the listed buildings and maintaining their student-oriented and international purpose.

  Outcome. The campaign helped create the political and civic conditions for the cooperative's foundation in 2002 and its subsequent acquisition of the site in 2003.

  Source

• 2014

  Open Studentendorf AdlershofProduct launch

  Background

  Berlin's Adlershof campus provided an opportunity to apply the cooperative's communal student-housing model in a newer academic district.

  Action taken

  Studentendorf Adlershof opened on the Humboldt University campus in October 2014.

  Aftermath

  The opening expanded the cooperative's residential footprint and gave its model a second purpose-built student-housing location.

  Source

• 2009

  Use a long-term land and hereditary building-right structureStrategy

  Background

  The cost of restoring the listed complex required a financing structure that could attract capital without surrendering operational control.

  Action taken

  The cooperative sold the land to CoOpera Sammelstiftung PUK and retained a 99-year hereditary building right.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement supported restoration financing while allowing the cooperative to continue managing the residences and shaping the site's community life.

  Source

• 2009

  Expand into scholar accommodationStrategy

  Background

  The cooperative sought to extend its international academic-housing mission beyond its original student village.

  Action taken

  It took over management of the International Center for Scholars in Berlin under a management contract.

  Aftermath

  The cooperative added an established residence for international scholars to its portfolio of academic housing operations.

  Source

• 2006

  Commit to monument-compliant renovationStrategy

  Background

  The historic buildings required substantial investment, but their architectural and cultural value made ordinary redevelopment inappropriate.

  Action taken

  The cooperative began a restoration program designed to comply with the site's heritage status while retaining its residential and communal character.

  Aftermath

  Renovation became a central long-term activity and a defining part of the cooperative's positioning.

  Source

• 2003

  Acquire and reactivate the historic student villageOther

  Background

  The complex was threatened by deterioration and a possible public-property sale that opponents feared could lead to demolition or redevelopment.

  Action taken

  The newly established cooperative negotiated with Berlin's property authorities, purchased the site, and began returning vacant buildings to residential use.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition preserved the cooperative's ability to operate the complex as student housing and laid the foundation for its later restoration program.

  Source

1. 1Studentendorf Schlachtensee eGen.wikipedia.org