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The fish sculpture inside the DZ bank in Pariser Platz in Tiergarten. The DZ Bank was designed by famous architect Frank Gehry who is responsible for building the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Guggenheim Museums in Bilbao, Spain and in New York City. He has also been contracted to design Millennium Park, the World Trade Center memorial. (1/8)
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Berlin is a city undergoing an enormous transformation architecturally. Since 1914, Germany's capital has suffered both economically and structurally. Walking down narrow avenues and perusing the various shops, you do not feel as though the city is old enough to have been conquered by Napoleon in 1806. Berlin's eastern side consists of drab, repetitive, square buildings while the western side is becoming increasingly flashy and modernized.
At present, Berlin is on its way back to being one of the cultural centers of Europe. While restoring what it can of its historic buildings, it is also revamping the rest. One of the most impressive restorations is the Reichstag. Originally built in 1889 and damaged by fire during World War II, the building was redesigned by Foster & Partners in 1993 after they won the international design competition.
To replace the original dome destroyed in 1954, Foster & Partners designed an intricate glass dome. Thirty-eight meters in diameter and 24 meters tall, the dome is a transparent solar collector allowing light to enter the parliament chamber below, also affording visitors a view of government in action. There is a central cone made of laminated glass mirrors for optimal lighting.
The DZ Bank in Pariser Platz is another architectural marvel. Designed by Frank Gehry, this investment bank contains an enclosed fish sculpture. Gehry intended to build the bank in the shape of a fish; however zoning laws in the square prohibit any buildings that would detract from the Brandenburg Gate nearby. All buildings are required to have a plain front and can be no more than four German stories high -- five stories in the U.S. The building was completed between 1995 and 2001.
Towering over the entire city is the Fernsehturm (TV Tower) in Alexander Platz. Built by the German Democratic Party in the 1960s, it took 53 months to construct, opening on Oct. 3, 1969. At just over 1,200 feet tall, the tower contains 986 steps and two elevators leading to the observation level and Telecafé restaurant. It is one of the most notorious remaining symbols of Soviet control in Berlin's east, receiving its 43-millionth visitor in February 2005.
Another of Berlin's pointedly historic buildings is the Kunsthaus (Art House) Tacheles. Tacheles is an old Jewish word meaning to disclose, reveal or speak clearly. Located in Mitte, the former Jewish quarters of East Berlin, it used to be the entrance for Friedrichstadt Passage, a shopping mall built in 1907.
In World War II part of the building was used by the Nazi Party. It was bombed but not destroyed, and was scheduled for demolition in April of 1990. However, Tacheles was discovered and taken over by artists from all over the world one month earlier. Today it remains an international art center.
The newest notable structure in Berlin is the Sony Center. The cinema, restaurants, shops and cafés surround a 4,000-square meter plaza topped by a glass dome replica of Mount Fuji that changes colors at night. Designed by Helmut Jahn and built in Potsdamer Platz, the center held its grand opening in June 2000.
The Sony Center rose from the site of the former Grand Hotel Esplande, an international hotel built between 1908 and 1911. Due to the historic register of the hotel, its Breakfast Room and banquet hall, the Kaisersaal (Emperor's Room), had to be excavated and moved. Both rooms were renovated and restored within the new Esplande Residence that contains 134 condominiums.
Almost 16 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the city is still undergoing a massive transformation. The years of Soviet neglect make it a difficult process, but the effort is not going unnoticed in the world's architectural community. |
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