Open, diverse, cosmopolitan: Herzog & de Meuron present the revised plans for the National Gallery's Museum of the 20th Century at Berlin's Kulturforum
Press release from 10/09/2018
With the Museum of the 20th Century, a building is being erected at the Kulturforum that will develop great charisma and at the same time fulfil the complex museum tasks to a high degree. The architecture that will be created in the coming years will be even more open to its surroundings and will follow the idea of networking even more intensively. This is reflected in the finalised preliminary design, which has now been submitted by architects Herzog & de Meuron. The three characteristic design features of the competition design remain central to the design - the shape of the building, the intersecting boulevards inside and the translucent brick façade. In addition, the building is now more open to the outside. This has created new entrances and views into the interior, connecting the museum building even more closely with the surrounding urban space. This interlocking on all sides makes the building the central link at the Kulturforum.
Minister of State for Culture Monika Grütters said: "The new museum building Neue Nationalgalerie - Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts at Potsdamer Platz has achieved a new quality with the revised design. The further development is a bold and consistent architectural gesture, with clear structures, a well thought-out materiality, exciting perspectives and the unique interior design with the double passageway. The building will have a major impact on the urban landscape and will hold its own among the solitary buildings. Above all, however, it will have a functional impact, as the works of art will be given an exclusive home that presents the art treasures of the 20th century in a new and impressive way. In this magnificent building, the impressive collections will finally be given the space they deserve. This museum experience will also attract international attention."
"The many reactions to the competition design in the media, from experts and from the public have shown the importance of this project and were an incentive for us to develop it further," emphasises Jacques Herzog. "Our urban planning concept for the Kulturforum is a concept of density, not emptiness. It organises an interplay of buildings that are precisely related to each other. And it also initiates the interplay of the cultural institutions established within it."
The architects have been working on the design together with the Nationalgalerie for months. Among other things, the floor plans of the four storeys are being finalised. Three of these four floors will be open to the public. They will house various exhibition spaces, as well as rooms for art education and working with groups, areas for visitor services, a multifunctional media room and catering facilities. The internal areas of the museum will house depots, restoration, office and technical rooms.
The President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hermann Parzinger, spoke of the excellent cooperation between the architects, SPK and neighbours: "The architects have significantly developed the original design. Not only the new quality of the exterior design, but also the elaboration of the interior make the building a true hub between the Philharmonie, the State Institute for Music Research, St Matthew's Church and the New National Gallery on the one hand, and the State Library, the Ibero-American Institute and the Picture Gallery on the other. This has always been important to us. A magnificent building will be created here for the SPK and its State Museums, which will display the Nationalgalerie's unique collection of 20th century art, which has grown together from East and West, together with the collections of Erich Marx and Ulla and Heiner Pietzsch, and will also incorporate the holdings of the Art Library and the Museum of Prints and Drawings. Today marks an important step towards our goal of creating a new, outstanding venue for 20th century art."
The Director of the Nationalgalerie of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Udo Kittelmann, praised the planning phase: "The Nationalgalerie has engaged in a very fruitful and creative dialogue with the architects over the last few months. Our common goal was not only to create a building for art, but also a social space where artistic and social perspectives can be negotiated. This is already reflected in the architectural design that has now been further developed, which creates ideal spaces for a variety of uses: from traditional art galleries to quiet zones and meeting places to spaces that can be used for multimedia."
The design planning will be completed in summer 2019, after which planning permission will be obtained. The ground-breaking ceremony is scheduled for the end of 2019.
From November 2018, the current plans will be presented in a small exhibition in the foyer of the Kulturforum.