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A groundbreaking ceremony has just taken place for the Monument to Freedom and Unity, in central Berlin. The 50m-long (164ft) bowl will move gently up and down when enough people stand on it, and it should be completed by the end of next year.
In a guide to the design, architects Milla & Partner, who won a competition called "Citizens in Motion", say "freedom and unity aren't static conditions, they require participation and interaction".
— BBC
The monument, nicknamed "unity seesaw" by Berliners, is conceived as an enormous bowl-shaped kinetic platform that invites people to interact with each other. Image courtesy of Milla & Partner Stuttgart-based practice Milla & Partner in collaboration with choreographer Sasha Waltz created the... View full entry
The installation is part of a week-long festival running from 4-10 November for the 30th anniversary. It aims to “celebrate the successes of the revolution and to recall the joy at regained freedoms and the risks and pains of social upheaval,” according to a statement from the organisers, Kulturprojekte Berlin. — The Art Newspaper
As the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall approaches this November, various art projects prepare to commemorate the events of the peaceful 1989 revolution throughout the city. Via large-scale interactive installations, 3D video projections, and an augmented reality app, artists seek... View full entry
All told, there are at least seventy border walls in the world today. Their construction has inspired an entire field of research dedicated to studying their effects. Psychologists, economists, geographers, and other specialists regularly publish reports in outlets such as the Journal of Borderland Studies, and much of their research suggests that border walls may be affecting the people who live near them in unforeseen ways. — The New Yorker
As the discussions about producing and enforcing geopolitical borders become more commonplace in global news, the studies of the psychological effects of those of previous eras have become painfully relevant. Berlin Wall, photographer unknownDietfried Müller, a German psychiatrist, had noticed... View full entry
During a time of heated debates on national borders, “Unbuilding Walls” — the German Pavilion now open at the 2018 Venice Biennale — revisits the era of the Berlin Wall, 28 years after it was dismantled. “Since February 5, 2018, the Wall that divided Germany for 28 years has been... View full entry
Last April GRAFT was announced as Curators of the German Pavilion at the Architecture Biennale 2018. The exhibition, "Unbuilding Walls", focuses on the parallel of the Berlin Wall's lifespan and Germany's unity both being 28 years. The exhibition responds to current debates on nations... View full entry
The German parliament approved plans to build a Memorial to Freedom and Unity in central Berlin, with an ambitious timetable that envisages the monument’s inauguration on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 2019.
Designed by the Stuttgart-based architect Johannes Milla and the Berlin choreographer Sasha Waltz, the monument will commemorate the protest movement that toppled the East German communist regime and led to the reunification of Germany in 1990.
— theartnewspaper.com
"The monument is animate and is not to be approached merely as an object for contemplation," Milla & Partner state on their website. "The intention is that people shall actually enter it and walk on it and set it in motion, movement being achieved by visitors working together as a group.""The... View full entry
Donald Trump has made a wall on the US-Mexico border a controversial centerpiece of his presidential campaign, and EU countries have erected fences to keep migrants and refugees out. But the Berlin Wall anniversary should be a stark reminder: Walls can only contain people for so long. [...]
Almost 28 years after the wall came down, Germany’s capital remains economically disadvantaged from its divided years, while buildings in the former East still show the scars of neglect under Communism.
— qz.com
Related on Archinect:Design a wall that separates Trump from the U.S. in this call for ideasThe Problem With Designing Trump’s Border WallUS/Mexico border wall competition provokes controversyBerlin After the Wall: A Microcosm of the World’s Chaotic Change8,000 Glowing Balloons Recreate the... View full entry
Not far from the Brandenburg Gate, Potsdamer Platz was a no man’s land during the Cold War. Then the Berlin Wall fell, and the German authorities made it a petting zoo for celebrity architecture. The corporate headquarters of Germany’s new global swagger.
But the ambitions for Potsdamer Platz, like the hopes and fears about a united Germany, turned out differently. The architecture was not so great. Many companies fled.
— nytimes.com
Related: 8,000 Glowing Balloons Recreate the Berlin Wall View full entry
Friday, November 7:8,000 Glowing Balloons Recreate the Berlin Wall: A 10 mile chain of balloons will line the path where the Wall previously stood, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of its demolition.First Ever Chicago Architecture Biennial Taking Shape for 2015: The Biennial's theme of "The... View full entry
The first blows to bring down the Berlin Wall were struck nearly 25 years ago to the day. This was after almost three decades of the concrete barricade cutting through the heart of Berlin and splitting the city in two. Today, Berlin is once again divided, this time by an 11-foot-tall wall of illuminated balloons.
The Lichtgrenze (translation: “border of light”) will stretch for 10 miles along the same path as the original 96-mile structure.
— wired.com
The latest entry in the Showcase: series featured Barkow Leibinger's Stadthaus M1, located in the "sustainable model district" of Vauban in the already so-called "green city" of Freiburg. Plus, Nicholas Korody looked at Factory Berlin, a "start-up campus" hosted by Google, built... View full entry
The investor behind a controversial luxury housing complex in the German capital has suspended construction after thousands protested plans to remove a section of the Berlin Wall to accomodate the building. He will try to find a compromise at a meeting with officials later this month. — spiegel.de
Click here to see the full photo gallery. The online petition "Save Berlin's East Side Gallery from being torn down for luxury condos" can be found on change.org. View full entry
