In that black & white photo the Berlin building is still new, but it wasn't so clean and sleek after 40+ years. It was also highly impractical, so total renovation was needed. IMO the new building integrates nicely together with the other renovated and newly-built buildings around Alexanderplatz and the whole area will only improve with the future skyscrapers around it.
Panorama Alexanderplatz Brunnen by
Jussi Vuorisalmi, on Flickr
But I guess that's enough about Berlin.