A Barn by Herzog de Meuron in Berlin
A Flawed Plan Leads to Budget Issues

Competition rendering of project looking south to Mies museum ©Herzog de Meuron
Once considered in the forefront of modern architecture in post-WWII Europe, Berlin has had its share of questionable decisions concerning important urban projects in recent history. Beginning with the rebirth of the Berlin Palace (Humboldt Forum) on the Spree by Italian architect, Franco Stella, and now followed by Herzog de Meuron’s controversial addition to Mies’s 20th Century Art Museum, the times when one could look to Berlin as a signpost of architectural innovation can only be viewed in the rear view mirror.
The quality of innovation seen in projects by Hans Scharoun, Egon Eierman, Helmut Jahn and Axel Schultes, as well as Mies van der Rohe, I.M. Pei, le Corbusier and others can only be seen in isolated cases. One of the last large major projects to see the light of day was gmp’s Main Station (Hauptbahnhof) for rail traffic. And even there, the firm had to resort to the courts to rectify a decision taken by the construction managers to significantly alter the appearance of one of the main rail platforms.
 Haupbahnhof Berlin ©gmp Competition Winner (1993); Completion (2006) We have previously stated our objections to the Herzog de Meuron scheme, as its location on the site, in addition to its height, blocks the site line from the Mies museum to Scharoun’s Philharmonie. As if that weren’t enough, the design of the museum in the form of a shed has presented some serious problems concerning climate control—an essential element to the preservation of the artworks. As Ralf Schönball’s article in the Berlin Tagesspiegel explains, the original budget for the project at €200M has now risen to €364M, “and that with lesser space for exhibits.” One of the reasons for this explosion in costs is the interior design of the museum, where huge spaces would create serious climate control issues.
What is still a puzzle is the choice of this mediocre attempt at a museum design, showing no sensitivity for the history of the site. The exhibit of the designs from the competition revealed a number that would have been superior to the ultimate choice. Many of those who sat on that jury were architects with impeccable credentials. One could only wonder: Where is an Eero Saarinen when you need him?*
*Saarinen was on the Sydney Opera House jury, arrived late, went through the discarded designs, found Utzon’s entry, took a boat out on the bay to view the site, made a few sketches, then came back and insisted, “This is it.” He also was instrumental in making some changes to the location of the U.S. Air Forces Academy’s chapel in the existing plan, thus providing the building with its current site.
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A Church Ruin as Reconciliation Memorial  View of winning design from south ©Heninghan Peng Architects For those tourists visiting Berlin today, the sudden approach to the ruins of a 1895 church building located on the city’s downtown Breitscheidplatz would certainly arouse their curiosity. One of the few remaining relics of World War II in the city, the church has now been the subject of a competition: Redesign and renovation of the Old Tower of the Friedrich Wilhelm Memorial Church (Umgestaltung des Alten Turms der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächnis-Kirche). Read more… Young Architects in Competitions When Competitions and a New Generation of Ideas Elevate Architectural Quality  by Jean-Pierre Chupin and G. Stanley Collyer published by Potential Architecture Books, Montreal, Canada 2020 271 illustrations in color and black & white Available in PDF and eBook formats ISBN 9781988962047 What do the Vietnam Memorial, the St. Louis Arch, and the Sydney Opera House have in common? These world renowned landmarks were all designed by architects under the age of 40, and in each case they were selected through open competitions. At their best, design competitions can provide a singular opportunity for young and unknown architects to make their mark on the built environment and launch productive, fruitful careers. But what happens when design competitions are engineered to favor the established and experienced practitioners from the very outset? This comprehensive new book written by Jean-Pierre Chupin (Canadian Competitions Catalogue) and Stanley Collyer (COMPETITIONS) highlights for the crucial role competitions have played in fostering the careers of young architects, and makes an argument against the trend of invited competitions and RFQs. The authors take an in-depth look at past competitions won by young architects and planners, and survey the state of competitions through the world on a region by region basis. The end result is a compelling argument for an inclusive approach to conducting international design competitions. Download Young Architects in Competitions for free at the following link: https://crc.umontreal.ca/en/publications-libre-acces/ Architecture as a Unifying Concept  1st Place – UNStudio Image: ©Aerial image: ©die developer Projektentwicklung GmbH As attractive as some of our most famous towers might appear, they do have a serious downside according to some observers: ‘they suck the life out of the street.’ This has not gone unnoticed, as some cities have required setbacks as partial solutions. Two Mies Van Der Rohe projects, New York’s Seagram Building and the Toronto-Dominion Centre are prime examples of this concept. More recently the recognition that landscaping can provide some breathing space has become quite the fashion. Competitions are now replete with competitors who insist that the surrounding green environment does not stop at the front door. One of the most obvious in recent history is Elizabeth de Portzamparc’s competition winning entry for the Taichung Tower 2 competition in Taiwan. Read more… Belfast Looks Toward an Equitable and Sustainable Housing Model  Birdseye view of Mackie site ©Matthew Lloyd Architects If one were to look for a theme that is common to most affordable housing models, public access has been based primarily on income, or to be more precise, the very lack of it. Here it is no different, with Belfast’s homeless problem posing a major concern. But the competition also hopes to address another of Belfast’s decades-long issues—its religious divide. There is an underlying assumption here that religion will play no part in a selection process. The competition’s local sponsor was “Take Back the City,” its membership consisting mainly of social advocates. In setting priorities for the housing model, the group interviewed potential future dwellers as well as stakeholders to determine the nature of this model. Among those actions taken was the “photo- mapping of available land in Belfast, which could be used to tackle the housing crisis. Since 2020, (the group) hosted seminars that brought together international experts and homeless people with the goal of finding solutions. Surveys and workshops involving local people, housing associations and council duty-bearers have explored the potential of the Mackie’s site.” This research was the basis for the competition launched in 2022. Read more…  Perkins & Will Carrying the label, “Artistic Ideas Competition,” five firms vied for a commission to design a new National Museum of the U.S. Navy. Household names, the five were Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) Copenhagen/ New York Gehry Partners (Los Angeles) DLR Group (Columbus, OH) Perkins&Will (Chicago) Winner! Quinn Evans (Ann Arbor) With a site not yet identified, it is possible that a final design will look quite different from the present submission. the Navy has expressed a preference for M Street SE and 6th Street SE, near the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. Six Firms Competed to Rethink the Future of a Major Museum  Aerial view of winning design ©Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos (courtesy Malcolm Reading Consultants) The history of the Dallas Museum of Art’s expansion has been punctuated by several moves, culminating in a new building designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes in 1984. The importance of this move to a new, somewhat desolate location in the city cannot be underestimated: it has led to the revitalization of what is now called the “Arts District,” with the relocation of various arts institutions to new facilities: the opera house (Foster and Partners), Dee and Charles Wyly Performing Arts Theater (REX/OMA), Nasher Sculpture Center (Renzo Piano), and I.M. Pei’s Meyerson Symphony Center being among the most significant. Read more… |