How do you actually build for the cultural audience of tomorrow?
Press release from 11/07/2019
Architecture summit on the "Blue Sofa": Sir David Chipperfield, Jacques Herzog, Regine Leibinger, HG Merz and Franco Stella in conversation with Vivian Perkovic - On 19 November 2019 from 7 pm in the new James-Simon-Galerie on Berlin's Museum Island - TV broadcast on 19 November 2019 from 11:10 pm on the culture channel 3sat
Berlin, 7 November 2019 - With Regine Leibinger, David Chipperfield, Jacques Herzog, HG Merz and Franco Stella, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and the partners of the "Blue Sofa" are hosting an architecture summit in the newly opened James-Simon-Galerie on Berlin's Museum Island.
For the first time, star architects Regine Leibinger (Barkow Leibinger), David Chipperfield (David Chipperfield Architects), Jacques Herzog (Herzog & de Meuron), HG Merz (hg merz architekten, merz merz) and Franco Stella (Franco Stella Architetto) will appear together. They will talk about their views on contemporary cultural buildings, current urban development, monument protection, art in architecture and the eternal reconstruction debate. Their buildings define the iconography of Berlin as a city of culture, their names are associated with buildings such as the State Opera, the Berlin State Library, the Old National Gallery, the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace and the Museum of the 20th Century.
This round was made possible by the "Blue Sofa", one of Germany's most successful literary formats, which was jointly developed by Bertelsmann, ZDF, Deutschlandfunk Kultur and 3sat. The "Blue Sofa" is an important part of Bertelsmann's diverse cultural commitment, which also includes readings, film screenings, exhibitions and concerts as well as sustainable initiatives to preserve Europe's cultural heritage.
"I am very much looking forward to the cooperation with the 'Blue Sofa' and believe that David Chipperfield's James Simon Gallery is the perfect place to talk about how to actually build for tomorrow's visitors and what cultural institutions of the future need. For us, the architects were and are always partners, because they all sought a close connection with the future users.
This is another reason why a lot of good architecture has been created in the interests of culture. I believe that this event should not be missed," says Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.
"Architecture always stands in a cultural and socio-political field of tension. This is particularly true for cultural buildings and their creators, as they position themselves with their buildings far beyond the respective zeitgeist. For this reason alone, the evening with the most important minds in contemporary architecture is also a media highlight," adds Daniel Fiedler, Head of ZDF - Kultur Berlin
Karin Schlautmann, Head of Bertelsmann Corporate Communications, explains: "In the twenty years of its existence, the 'Blue Sofa' has established itself as a leading cultural and literary format: Here, international authors present the most important books at the book fairs, and selected personalities discuss current topics from different perspectives. Cosmopolitanism and creative diversity are part of Bertelsmann's DNA. I am therefore delighted that we can build on the culture and debates of the Bauhaus, which was founded 100 years ago, and once again contribute to cultural diversity in Berlin."
The event at a glance
The "Blue Sofa" with Sir David Chipperfield, Jacques Herzog, Regine Leibinger, HG Merz and Franco Stella
In the James-Simon-Galerie:
Tuesday, 19 November 2019, 7:00 pm
Admission from 6:30 pm
Bodestraße, 10178 Berlin
On TV:
Tuesday, 19 November 2019, 23:10 on 3sat
"Das Blaue Sofa. Building for art. Star architects discuss cultural buildings today and tomorrow"
On the radio:
Deutschlandfunk Kultur reports in the programme "Fazit" on 19 November 2019 from 11:05 pm and broadcasts a recording of the discussion on 24 November 2019 from 1:05 am to 2:00 am.
Press registrations at: pressestelle(at)hv.spk-berlin(dot)de
About the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
With its internationally outstanding museums, libraries, archives and research institutes, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation is one of the largest cultural institutions in the world. Its five institutions are the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, the Geheime Staatsarchiv PK, the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut and the Staatliches Institut für Musikforschung. They combine art and culture with science and research in a special way. Their collections document the cultural development of mankind in all parts of the world from its beginnings to the present day. The SPK preserves and expands these collections, researches and catalogues them and makes them accessible to the public. The numerous buildings of its five institutions are spread across various locations throughout the city. Many of the foundation's buildings are architecturally significant monuments. The most important architectural firms are regularly responsible for their preservation and further development.
About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company that is active in around 50 countries around the world. The group includes the television group RTL Group, the book publishing group Penguin Random House, the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, the music company BMG, the service provider Arvato, the Bertelsmann Printing Group, the Bertelsmann Education Group and the international fund network Bertelsmann Investments. With 117,000 employees, the company generated revenues of €17.7 billion in the 2018 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination enables first-class media offerings and innovative service solutions that inspire customers all over the world.
About the Blue Sofa
The Blue Sofa is the joint authors' forum of Bertelsmann, ZDF and Deutschlandfunk Kultur. It has become a permanent fixture at the book fairs in Frankfurt and Leipzig. The Blue Sofa celebrated its premiere in Berlin in 2005. In 2011, the Frankfurt reading festival "Open Books" opened for the first time with a Blue Sofa author gala. Since the Leipzig Book Fair in 2000, almost 2,800 author talks have taken place on the Blue Sofa, among the authors have been Nobel Prize winners Svetlana Alexievich, Mikhail Gorbachev, Günter Grass, Herta Müller, Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, Orhan Pamuk, Joseph Stiglitz, Olga Tokarczuk, Mario Vargas Llosa and Mo Yan.