Essay: Mind the gap
»Mind the gap« — speculating about Schlossplatz Berlin
Graduation essay by Matthias Schreiber
Sandberg Instituut Amsterdam, 2010
The Schlossplatz is Berlin’s most historical place, a place heavily charged with meaning. On the grounds of Berlin’s Museum Island (Museumsinsel) the city was founded during the year 1237. Throughout Berlin’s history two architectural icons, the Prussian City Palace (Stadtschloss, 1443–1950) and the socialist Palace of the Republic (Palast der Republik, 1976–2008), stood there, and both were demolished by a struggle for the better ideology. Events reached a climax when German government decided not to preserve the socialist palace in 2002 (confirmed again in 2007), but to replace it with a fake copy of the old Stadtschloss in a simplified baroque version with a strong focus on the image generated by the design of the facade. At first glance a questionable idea for a nation that calls itself a modern liberal democracy. With my essay I will try to explore how this could happen, what were the (political) conditions that led to this decision, and finally I will try to answer the question: Is there really no alternative?1.25 MB / downloads: 43
