Reconstruction of Berlin’s historic City Palace put on hold

The start of the reconstruction work on Berlin’s historical City Palace has been postponed until 2014, which, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is a consequence of the current difficulteconomic conditions. She claimed that Germany’s budget was tight and the country needed to concentrate on saving, meaning that “we can’t afford everything that we wish for if we want to control our future.” See complete article by Silke Bartlick

Reconstruction in Architecture

Text by Giorgio Grassi

mehr »

Averted from the city and very modern – Franco Stella’s design for the Humboldt Forum

An urbanistic critique of Franco Stellas design for the Humboldt-Forum by Philipp Oswalt mehr »

Campaign ‚Berlin Palace – not in my name‘

According to its promoters, the palace replica in the heart of the capital will facilitate the development of a new identity for both Berlin and Germany as a whole following reunification. From the very outset, however, the project has provoked considerable public dissent. The campaign ‘Berlin Palace – not in my name‘ kein-schloss-in-meinem-namen.de articulates individuals‘ disapproval of the palace project. mehr »

New York Times criticizes the reconstruction of the palace

On January 1st 2009 the Ney York Times published Michael Kimmelman’s article „Rebuilding a Palace May Become a Grand Blunder“. Right at the beginning of his article Kimmelman points out: „The saga of the Schloss, a cultural misadventure from the start, captures Berlin in a nutshell, as a city forever missing the point of itself.“ mehr »

Jury Statements

The jury of the international competition has argued with following textes their decission for selecting the winners of the competition. mehr »

What Good is Humboldt-Forum?

Due to the dispute about its facades, the use concept for Humboldt-Forum has not been critically discussed so far. But a glance at the competition brief for the architectural competition currently underway shows: the usable area has been cut by more than half since the initial conception from 7 years ago without changing the concept or developing it further. The ethnological collections of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Foundation of Prussian Cultural Heritage) and the Berliner Zentral- und Landesbibliothek (Central and Regional Library of Berlin) have been fragmented and torn apart in an irresponsible manner. It’s not the cultural community that has the say, but rather politics, which subjects the project to its questionable needs for legitimation. An Analysis and Criticism of Humboldt-Forum’s Use Concept by Philipp Oswalt mehr »

The Berlin Palace Business

Reconstruction of the Berlin Palace: The most important construction project in Germany for years generates little interest among architects. Because of low public acceptance, attempts are made to feign civic commitment and substantial willingness to donate. More than anything, the responsible association provides members with payments. mehr »

Links and downloads

Links

Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs

Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development

 

Downloads

Competition_Brief_2008.pdf

Report of Written Queries during Competition_First Phase.pdf