First Place! Award for the Neue Nationalgalerie

News from 01/26/2022

The full renovation of the Neue Nationalgalerie has received First Prize in the BDA Berlin (Bund Deutscher Architekten) awards.

Facade of a modern building.
© BBR / Marcus Ebener / Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

The BDA Berlin (Federation of German Architects, Berlin) announced its decision on January 24, 2022. An interdisciplinary jury awarded First Prize to the Neue Nationalgalerie project, praising the “masterful precision of the refurbishment, carried out with an almost invisible hand.” The renovation of the building shows, “that it is possible to modernize landmarked buildings to meet current energy efficiency standards and be accessible to people with disabilities, without impairing their architectural qualities.” The jury also praised “how contemporary architects have respected the work of an older generation through the intelligent technical integration of contemporary design elements, while remaining discreet and restrained.”

The Neue Nationalgalerie building at Kulturforum was designed by Mies van der Rohe and is considered a paragon of modern Western architecture. Hermann Parzinger, President of the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation), which owns the building, comments: “We are very pleased that the project has been so successful. This icon of architectural history has been renovated from top to bottom by David Chipperfield Architects and brought up to modern museum standards. Since its re-opening in August 2021, it has again become a major public attraction in Berlin.”

The renovation took place from 2016 to 2021, with the Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung (Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning) responsible for construction supervision. In August 2021, the gallery opened its doors to visitors again with an exhibition of work by Alexander Calder and with prominent works of classical modernism from the collection of the Nationalgalerie (National Gallery).

The BDA Award Berlin is presented every three years in recognition of exemplary architectural projects, and the ceremony for the most recent awards will be held on May 3, 2022. In 2009, this award recognized the reconstruction of the Neues Museum on Berlin’s Museumsinsel, a project that was likewise planned by David Chipperfield Architects.

Links for Additional Information

To overview