Berlin’s Skyline Enforcer To Retire

Hans Stinmann, the controversial civic planner who some see as Berlin’s post-Wall savior, and others deride as a shortsighted pragmatist, is retiring at age 65 from his post as Berlin’s building director. “The projects he oversaw cover more than 741 acres in the post-Wall center of Berlin… Concerned that uncontrolled development would produce a forest of skyscrapers, Mr. Stimmann set building heights of 72 to 98 feet, or about six to eight stories tall.”