Bereichsnavigation
Ideas Competition Museum of the 20th Century - Ideas Competition Museum of the 20th Century
Press release from 02/12/2016
The ideas competition for the Museum of the 20th Century at Berlin's Kulturforum came to an end this Friday with the selection of ten winning designs.
The teams of architects and landscape architects responsible for the award-winning designs have thus qualified to take part in the realisation competition, which is due to start in the middle of the year. Each nomination is also associated with prize money of 26,000 euros. Half of the winners come from abroad. For competition reasons, the names of the winning offices will not be assigned to the designs, as anonymity must be maintained for the duration of the realisation competition. All 460 designs submitted for this open competition will be on display in the special exhibition halls at the Kulturforum from 26 February to 13 March 2016.
Minister of State for Culture Monika Grütters, who is also Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, gave a positive assessment of the process: "Competitions are an indicator of where you stand. This ideas competition was valuable because it provided us with many insights. Firstly: this location is the right one. Because the whole world is looking at this building project. Here we are being judged on how Germany deals with architecture, with this public art. Urban planning, architecture and museum requirements must come together here. The masterpieces by Scharoun and Mies van der Rohe, St Matthew's Church and the Picture Gallery are looking for a kind of moderator. After this round of the competition, I am convinced that there will be imaginative designs that are convincing in terms of both urban planning and functionality."
The chairman of the jury, Arno Lederer, praised the diversity of the entries: "The submissions show that there are very different concepts that can lead to a solution. However, they also make clear the complexity and the enormous degree of difficulty, which is due on the one hand to the exclusive urban planning situation and on the other hand to the fulfilment of the programme. After intensive and concentrated work, the jury considered ten submissions to be worthy of an award. These entries are to be understood as ideas and not as examples suitable for direct realisation, as called for in the competition brief. At the same time, they contain valuable information on how the programme for the upcoming realisation competition can be precisely formulated."
The President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hermann Parzinger, also emphasised once again that the choice of location was the right one: "The works very clearly express the potential and challenges of this location. We have a unique opportunity not only to preserve a wonderful museum for 20th century art on this site, but also to find the right urban planning response to this special and yet so unfinished location and finally complete the Kulturforum."
The Director General of the National Museums in Berlin, Michael Eis-senhauer , said: "Following the successful urban planning ideas competition, we are now looking forward to the concrete designs. In the next step, the diverse requirements and challenges for the new building can be specified: For our work and our visitors, we want a perfectly functioning museum that offers a great art experience and excellent service functions. A high quality of stay will enhance the experience of the entire Kulturforum."
On behalf of the State of Berlin, Senate Building Director Regula Lüscher said: "I am delighted that this outstanding architectural project in the heart of Berlin has generated such a great national and international response among the world's architects."
The jury of 13 expert and specialist judges met for three days in Berlin. All 460 works submitted were first presented in a so-called information tour. This was followed by several evaluation rounds until the winners were decided. The expert judges were the architects Roger Diener (Basel), Heike Hanada (Berlin), Arno Lederer (Stuttgart, chairman of the jury), Hilde Léon (Berlin, deputy chairman of the jury), Till Schneider (Frankfurt), Enrique Sobejano (Madrid) and the landscape architect Undine Giseke (Berlin). The expert judges include Minister of State Monika Grütters, Foundation President Hermann Parzinger, the Director General of the National Museums in Berlin, Michael Eissenhauer, Senate Building Director Regula Lüscher as well as Herlind Gundelach (CDU), Member of the Bundestag, and former SPD MP Petra Merkel. The competition was advised by the Director of the North Rhine-Westphalia Art Collection, Marion Ackermann, and the State Conservator Jörg Haspel, among others.
The aim of the ideas competition was to gain insights for the realisation competition. It will start in the middle of the year. A total of around 40 to 60 offices are expected to take part. The procedure: In addition to the ten winners of the ideas competition, a further eight to 12 working groups will be invited. Other offices can also qualify via an international competition. These three groups will ultimately form the field of participants for the realisation competition. The result should be finalised at the end of 2016.
