Slab construction

Plattenbau (plural: Plattenbauten, German: Platte: panel/ slab; Bau: building/ construction) is a building constructed of large, prefabricated concrete slabs. The word is a compound of Platte (in this context: panel) and Bau (building).

Although Plattenbauten are often considered to be typical of East Germany, the prefabricated construction method was used extensively in West Germany and elsewhere, particularly in public housing (see tower block). In English the building method is also called large-panel system building or LPS.

Prefabrication was pioneered in the Netherlands following World War I, based on construction methods developed in the United States. The first German use of plattenbau construction is what is now known as the Splanemann-Siedlung in Berlin's Lichtenberg district, constructed in 1926–1930. These two- and three-storey apartment houses were assembled of locally cast slabs, inspired by the Dutch Betondorp in Watergraafsmeer, a suburb of Amsterdam.

In East Germany, Plattenbau areas have been designated as Neubaugebiet (“New development area”). Virtually all new residential buildings since the 1960s were built in this style, as it was a quick and relatively inexpensive way to curb the country's severe housing shortage, which had been caused by wartime bombing raids and the large influx of German refugees from further east. At the same time, buildings from earlier eras often fell into disrepair and their inhabitants often preferred moving to Plattenbau housing which they perceived to be more modern, although today, perception has changed considerably, and 'Plattenbau' are often no longer desirable, due in part to their rapid deterioration as a direct result of their cheap and quick construction methods.

There were several common plattenbau designs. The most common series was the P2, followed by the WBS 70, the WHH GT 18, and Q3A. The designs were flexible and could be built as towers or rows of apartments of various heights.

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