The figures alone are impressive: 8,000 cubic meters of natural stone work are needed for the new construction of the Berlin Palace and Humboldt Forum complex. 15 percent of this will be architectural decorative elements, including sculptural work. Around 3,000 individual pieces are to be produced based on around 300 models. 85 percent will be stonemasonry pieces that will be used as architectural elements on the façades.
Once all this has been carved, removed and moved, “the center of Berlin will once again have its point of reference, the building to which the surrounding historical buildings relate in terms of scale and content,” says Manfred Rettig, board member and spokesman for the Berlin Palace – Humboldt Forum Foundation, client and owner of the building under construction. However, the building will not only be a replica of a large part of the Prussian Palace, which was badly damaged in the Second World War and blown up by Walter Ulbrich in 1950. According to Rettig, it will also be home to the Humboldt Forum, an open center of social and cultural life.
To this end, in November 2009 the Federal Government established the Berlin Palace – Humboldt Forum Foundation, a foundation under civil law, which pursues exclusively and directly charitable purposes of promoting art and culture, education, international sentiment and tolerance in all areas of culture and international understanding as well as the protection and preservation of historical monuments. This is how the foundation, which is under the patronage of the Federal President, describes its objectives. It is a joint project of the federal government, which is contributing 478 million euros to the costs, and the state of Berlin, which is paying 32 million euros.
The Humboldt Forum is being built with this budget of 510 million euros. The Berlin Palace, or more precisely the reconstruction of the facades, will be financed by the public. A total of 80 million euros has been budgeted for this and is to be raised from private donations. However, this total of 590 million euros does not include additional structural options such as the complete historical dome over the west façade, the reconstruction of the interior portals or a rooftop restaurant. According to the foundation, a further 28.5 million euros are required for this.
Read more about the reconstruction of the Berlin Palace in STEIN in January 2014.
Pictures: Michael Senn, Boris Frohberg