Architecture sights in Germany
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Grüne Zitadelle
Completed in 2005, this piglet-pink building with trees growing from its facade and meadows sprouting on its rooftops was the final design of Viennese artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. It reflects his philosophy of creating highly unique spaces in harmony with nature, an ‘oasis for humanity’. Inside are offices, flats and shops, as well as a small hotel and a cafe. If you understand German, join the one-hour guided tours to learn more about the man and his intriguing vision.
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walk on the roof
Don't have time to make it to the Alps for climbing around lofty heights? No sweat. Just head to the Olympic Stadium for a walk on the roof . Yup, the roof; that famously contorted steel and plexiglass confection is ready for its close-up. Just like on the mountains, you'll be roped and hooked up to a steel cable as you clamber around under the eagle-eyed supervision of an experienced guide showering you with fascinating details about the stadium's architecture and construction. Unusual perspectives are guaranteed, but the vertigo-prone might want to take a pass on this one. Minimum age is 10 and expeditions last two hours. Wear rubber-soled shoes.
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Spreedreieck
So much has been accomplished since reunification, yet Berlin remains a work in progress. The biggest project of 2009, the Spreedreieck, is a 10-story office high-rise situated on the triangular plot of land next to Friedrichstrasse station. Designed by the late Mark Braun, its twin glass towers echo the blueprint of the Modernist building Ludwig Mies van der Rohe conceived for the site back in 1929. The new structure preserves the GDR-era Tränenpalast (Palace of Tears), so-named because the Friedrichstrasse station was where West Berliners had to say their teary farewells after visiting their relatives and friends stuck behind the Iron Curtain.
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Theatinerkirche St Kajetan
The imposing baroque church swelling up on the west side is the Theatinerkirche St Kajetan, built in the 17th century to commemorate the birth of Prince Max Emanuel. Its massive twin towers flanking a giant cupola are a landmark of Munich's skyline. Inside, the intensely ornate high dome stands above the Fürstengruft (royal crypt), containing the remains of Wittelsbach dynasty members. Opposite and a bit to the north, a neoclassical gate leads the way to the former Hofgarten (Royal Gardens).
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Dom
Bamberg's princely and ecclesiastical roots are felt strongest around Domplatz on the southern bank of the Regnitz. The dominant structure is the soaring Dom, the result of a Romanesque-Gothic duel fought by church architects after the original edifice burnt down (twice) in the 12th century. Politics dictated the final floor plan, which was altered each winter during 20 years of building. The interior is renowned for its fine acoustics, and from May to October free 30-minute organ concerts take place at noon on Saturday.
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Philology Library
The latest addition (2005) to the Freie Universität Berlin (Free University) is the Philology Library, a masterpiece of modern architecture by Lord Norman Foster. Nicknamed the ‘ Berlin Brain ’ because of its cranial shape, it has four floors sheltered within a naturally ventilated, bubble-like enclosure draped in aluminium and glazed panels. An inner membrane of translucent glass fibre filters the daylight, while scattered transparent openings allow momentary glimpses of the sky.
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Bundesnachrichtendienst
So much has been accomplished since reunification, yet Berlin remains a work in progress. In the near future, the biggest ballet of cranes will likely be dancing above Chausseestrasse in northern Mitte, where the new headquarters of the Bundesnachrichtendienst, the German equivalent of the CIA, is taking shape. Designed by Kleihues + Kleihues, the enormous complex is being built on a lot formerly occupied by the GDR-era Stadium of the World Youth and expected to provide 4000 jobs when it opens in 2012.
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Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
The hulking building between Kulturforum and Potsdamer Platz houses part two of the State Library, picking up where the collection at the main branch on Unter den Linden leaves off, ie in 1955. Called ‘Stabi’ for short, it clearly bears the Scharoun imprimatur but wasn’t actually completed until 1978. Free 90-minute tours (in German) run at 10.30am every third Saturday of the month. Otherwise, it’s only accessible with a library card which comes with age and residency restrictions.
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Casino
Marlene Dietrich called it 'the most beautiful casino in the world'. Indeed, inside the palatial Kurhaus (besides lavish festival halls) is the flashy casino, reminiscent of a 1970s Bond film. Built in 1838, its decor sought to outdo France's Versailles palace. The Florentiner Saal with its chandelier fleet is also called the 'Hall of The Thousand Candles'.
You need your passport or European national ID card to enter. Games include French and American roulette, baccarat, blackjack and poker.
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Hansaviertel
The Hansaviertel, built from 1954 to 1957, northwest of Tiergarten, and is a loosely-structured leafy area blending high-rises and single-family homes. It grew from an architectural exposition, the Internationale Bauausstellung, or ‘Interbau’, held in 1957, and represents the pinnacle of architectural vision in the 1950s. More than 50 architects from 13 countries – including Gropius, Luciano Baldessari, Alvar Aalto and Le Corbusier – participated in its design.
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Hundertwasserschule
How would you like to study grammar and algebra in a building where trees sprout from the windows and gilded onion domes balance above a rooftop garden? This fantastical environment is everyday reality for the lucky 1300 pupils of Wittenberg’s Hundertwasserschule. It was the penultimate work of eccentric Viennese artist, architect and eco-visionary Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who was famous for quite literally thinking ‘outside the box’. In Wittenberg, he transformed a boxy GDR-era concrete monstrosity into a colourful and curvy dreamscape. You can view the exterior any time, but tours of the interior wait for at least four participants before they start. Ring ahead for…
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Yenidze
The huge mosque-like Yenidze began life in 1909 as a cigarette factory with a chimney disguised as a minaret and a stained-glass dome. Today it's home to offices and a ho-hum restaurant and beer garden beneath the dome.
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Neue Mitte
So much has been accomplished since reunification, yet Berlin remains a work in progress. Over on Alexanderplatz, a chunky retail-office hybrid called Neue Mitte was completed in 2009. The design itself, by the architectural firm of RKW of Düsseldorf, is remarkably unremarkable and local punters have joked that its merits lie mostly in obscuring the view of the humongous, pink-mantled Alexa shopping mall that opened in 2007.
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AEG Turbinenhalle
Peter Behrens (1868-1940) who is sometimes called the 'father of modern architecture' designed the 1929 Berolinahaus on Alexanderplatz (now a C&A clothing store), but his most accomplished structure is outside the centre: the 1909 AEG Turbinenhalle, an airy, functional and light-flooded ‘industrial cathedral’ with exposed structural beams. The building is considered an icon of early industrial architecture.
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Umweltbundesamt
The brightly coloured and textured facade of this modern building makes a striking sight. Public art graces the parklike outdoor areas, while the lofty, light-flooded forum has exhibitions and is also open to visitors.
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Weltzeituhr
A popular meeting spot since 1969, this huge clock is a good vantage point for surveying the socialist buildings that frame Alexanderplatz. Look for the frieze-decorated House of the Teacher, the House of the Electrical Industry decorated with a quote from Alfred Döblin's novel Berlin Alexanderplatz and the Park Inn hotel, nicknamed 'Bed Tower.'
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Medienhafen
This once-dead old harbour area has been reborn as the Medienhafen, an increasingly hip quarter filled with architecture, restaurants, bars, hotels and clubs. Once-crumbling warehouses have turned high-tech office buildings and now rub shoulders with bold new structures designed by celebrated international architects, including Frank Gehry.
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Kunsthofpassage
Take a web of grimy courtyards, a load of paint and a bunch of visionary Dresden artists and out comes the Kunsthofpassage, one of the most refreshingly artistic spaces in the Neustadt. Each one has its own charm but shutterbug favourites are the Court of the Elements, where 'music' is created by water running down interlinked rain pipes affixed to a turquoise facade, and the Court of the Animals where monkeys leap from window to window above the head of a giant giraffe.
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Meisterhäuser
You’ll find the three remaining Meisterhäuser on leafy Ebertallee, a 15-minute walk west of the Hauptbahnhof. The leading lights of the Bauhaus movement lived together as neighbours in these white cubist structures that exemplify the Bauhaus aim of ‘design for living’ in a modern industrial world.
Originally there was a stand-alone home for Gropius, plus three duplexes, each half of which provided a living/working space for a senior staff member and his family. Gropius’ home was destroyed in WWII, along with one-half of the neighbouring duplex (at the time of research both Gropius’ home and the duplex were being reconstructed using original plans). In the febrile…
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Pfunds Molkerei
The Guinness Book-certified ‘world’s most beautiful dairy shop’ was founded in 1880 and is a riot of hand-painted tiles and enamelled sculpture, all handmade by Villeroy & Boch. The shop sells replica tiles, wines, cheeses and other milk products. Not surprisingly, the upstairs cafe-restaurant has a strong lactose theme. Slip in between coach tours for a less shuffling look round.
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Haus der Elektroindustrie
The massive building on the north side of the Alexanderplatz square is the 1970 Haus der Elektroindustrie, which now houses Germany’s federal environmental ministry. The letters on its façade spell out a quote from the 1929 novel Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin.
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Gläserne Manufaktur
The Gläserne Manufaktur is Volkswagen’s stunning transparent car factory. This ambitious, impossibly stylish glass building was a huge prestige project for the long-running automobile company, and has become an unusual and distinctive feature of the city scene.
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GSW Headquarters
Of the city's remarkable new buildings, a standout is the energy-efficient extension of the GSW Headquarters by Louisa Hutton and Matthias Sauerbruch, which sports a double-layer convection façade with blinds that automatically change colour depending on the temperature.
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Bauhausgebäude
It’s almost impossible to overstate the significance of the building, erected in 1925–26 as a school of Bauhaus art, design and architecture. Two key pioneers of modern architecture, Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, served as the school’s directors. Gropius claimed that the ultimate of all artistic endeavours was architecture, and this building was the first real-life example of his vision. It was revolutionary, bringing industrial construction techniques such as curtain walling and wide spans into the public domain and presaging untold buildings worldwide. The school also disseminated the movement’s ideals of functionality and minimalism.
Today a…
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Fürstenzug
The 102m-long Fürstenzug mural is depicted on the façade of the former Stallhof (royal stables). The scene, a long row of royalty on horses, was first painted in 1876 by Wullhelm Walther and then transferred to some 24,000 Meissen porcelain tiles in 1904.
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