2008
Competition Humboldt-Forum - Berlin - Germany
The competition entry by the architects KUEHN MALVEZZI for the controversial reconstruction of the Berlin Stadtschloss proposed to first establish the palace as a “raw form,” a bare but finished structure whose exposed
brick walls integrate the few original façade elements.
The reconstruction was to be implemented gradually.
The concept did not fundamentally reject the competition’s mandate but did decelerate the process, allowing for a “tentative reconstruction” accompanied by constant reevaluation.
“What is lost must be recaptured slowly,” explained the architects in a newspaper interview.
The building would start off as an abstract shape, a blank of what previously existed.
Renewed debate at each intermediate stage of the reconstruction would explore whether or not the application of another historicizing layer would be desirable or necessary.
Instead of taking on the vast enterprise of reconstructing the building in its entirety, this would create an innovative process as well as the possibility for community engagement and identification with the project.
The proposal, which was highly praised by the competition jury, was only awarded honorable mention, as it failed to comply with several of the tender’s requirements.