The plans call for nothing less than the rebirth of the Prussian-era heart of Berlin. A new palace is currently under construction on the German capital's famous Museum Island to replace the Berlin City Palace, or Stadtschloss, the erstwhile residence of Prussian kings and German emperors that was demolished by the communists soon after the end of World War II. [...]
But completion of the exterior may be in doubt.
— spiegel.de
6 Comments
This is a case of what I hope is a terrible idea finding an ignominious end, turn it into a parking garage, not some shrine to the gilded age of German monarchy.
What a strange and perverse idea to rebuild this. A building where the main program element is the facade.
Do most Berliners support this? Do they care?
Aparently this facadism is ranpant in our culture. Warsaw re-built it's entire historic district.
As my daughter would say, "was-up wit dat?"
it's not just the laziness of facade-as-building, the whole span of history this building alludes to is utterly out of synch with what I think are the values of a fairly healthy democratic country.
are they going to rebuild the kaiser wilhelm national monument too? maybe add one in for wilhelm II since he never got any thanks for abdicating?
I don't think they are (where) building this becasue it's history is in synch with today's democratic values any more than the French maintain their Royal Palaces to promote their democracy. It's more about memory and identity. It shows that when one's built heritage is so completely destroyed, that it leaves a hole in one's identity. Like when a flood wipes out a home's contents and the survivors cherish the smallest photo of long ago, or like people's reaction when they do those DNA tests to find their ansestral lineage. It has no bearing on today but it's a link that anchors us in the larger swirl of passing time.
I really like the idea of a government building designed in the form of a rubber stamp.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.