On June 24 and 25, 2017, around 35,000 guests attended the Open Construction Site Days at the Berlin Palace to see the progress of the construction work. Exhibitions, performances, live acts and concerts were offered as part of the event. Individual sections of the façade were even freed from scaffolding for the event. Visitors were able to gain insights into the […]

On June 24 and 25, 2017, around 35,000 guests attended the Open Construction Site Days at the Berlin Palace to see the progress of the construction work. Exhibitions, performances, live acts and concerts were offered as part of the event. Individual sections of the façade were even freed from scaffolding for the event.

Visitors were able to gain insights into the construction progress and impressions of the diversity of the Humboldt Forum’s future program. Eye-catchers were the partially completed north façade facing the Lustgarten, the Schlüterhof and the Eosander Portal with its large arches and the light-flooded Agora.
The 30-metre-high space combines historical and contemporary façade design. Baroque meets contemporary architecture here. Various topics were publicly discussed here, such as “The dynamics of contradiction, form and content of the Humboldt Forum”, “Architecture, art and spirituality: palace”, “Nature and culture: eagle”, and “Society and politics: helmet”.

The concrete shell will be decorated with 2,900 decorative elements made of 9,000 cubic meters of sandstone, including 90 rams’ heads, 45 eagles and clad with 3.5 million bricks. According to the association, 65-70% of the natural stone work has already been completed. In total, over 90% of the contracts for the entire construction project have been awarded, and 100% of the natural stone work.
The sculptors are using various types of sandstone, mainly from Saxony and Silesia. In keeping with the historical model, a mixture and interplay of textures and nuances is definitely intended. As the natural stones are of the utmost importance for the façade reconstruction, characteristic value groups and color values were specified.
Harder stones are used for the plinth, balustrade and eaves cornice areas; softer stones are used for the sculptural areas and recesses. Rackwitz, Posta and Reinhartsdorf sandstone are predominantly used. In contrast, the so-called Cotta sandstone is to be largely avoided here due to its vulnerability.
The original fragments of the six larger-than-life sculptures of the Schlüter portal are to be presented in the lapidarium of the east wing. All eight figures were reconstructed on the newly created portal in the east courtyard.

Visitors were able to see for themselves that not only the Eosander portal on the west side (portal no. 3) and the triumphal arch portal in the large foyer are finished. The Lustgarten side was also already visible. The scaffolding here has been dismantled over a width of 30 meters especially for the Open Portals Days so that visitors have an unobstructed view. The light yellow plaster façade with the slightly darker natural stone sandstone cladding of the window reveals and architraves now offers a first impression. The result is a bright, cheerful, baroque new building, which of course never looked like this, as all the sandstone components were originally set.

Around 50 salvaged fragments have been integrated into the new building after restoration. As these pieces were badly damaged due to deterioration, storage and weathering and therefore contrast with the newly created parts, the impression is somewhat disconcerting. Whether the building will be regarded as an example of how to deal with loss is debatable. In any case, the building gives the historical center of the capital back its point of reference.

Background information on the history of the palace and the new building

The original palace construction began in 1443 under Elector Eisenzahn. The Hohenzollern Palace was later fundamentally rebuilt and modernized by the master builders Schlüter and Eosander, and partially altered by the Baumeister Böhme, Gonthard, Langhans, Erdmannsdorff and Schinkel. This Renaissance, Baroque, Classicist and Historicist structure remained one of Berlin’s most important landmarks until its destruction in spring 1945 and demolition in 1950.

The new palace, built from 2013, is intended to be far more than just a museum in a clad concrete building. It will be a cross-thematic dialog of world cultures. The ethnological collections of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, the collections of Humboldt University and a local museum will find a new home here. With the prospect of mutual influence, the classical art treasures on the world-renowned Museum Island will be linked to the ethnological and ethnological collections and the use of the museum, which partially moved into the building after the abdication of the Hohenzollerns in 1918.

Cost breakdown for the cultural project

Italian architect Franco Stella submitted the winning design for the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace in 2008. The ground-breaking ceremony took place in 2013. The federal government has set the upper cost limit at 590 million euros for the 35-metre-high building (70 meters with the dome), which is 184 meters long and 117 meters wide. The donation target of a total of 105 million euros is to be achieved through the tireless efforts of the sponsoring association.

Of this sum, the lion’s share of 80 million euros will go towards the reconstruction of the historic façade. The remaining 25 million euros are earmarked for the reconstruction of other components such as the dome and the inner portals I, II and III. Currently, around 63 million euros have been collected in cash donations. In addition to donations in kind and pledges, which Wilhelm von Boddien, head of the Berlin Palace Sponsors’ Association, estimates to be worth around eleven million euros, 31 million euros are still missing.
Apparently, nothing stands in the way of an opening at the end of 2019, as the major project is on schedule, which is probably a special feature in Berlin. It is astonishing that such complicated construction projects as the Frauenkirche in Dresden and the palace in Berlin can be completed on time and within budget.

Hyde Park is one of the most famous public parks in London and also the largest of the four royal parks. You can find out all about the park here.

Hyde Park is one of the most famous public parks in London. It is the largest of the four royal parks and stretches from Kensington to Buckingham Palace. That says a lot about its history.

The beginnings of Hyde Park go back to Henry the Eighth (Henry VIII and his numerous wives, to be precise), who made the area he had previously taken from the monks of Westminster Abbey his hunting ground as early as 1536. A good hundred years later, its doors were opened to the public by King Charles I and Hyde Park quickly became a popular place for outings and parades. In the early 18th century, Queen Caroline redesigned the park. Finally, in 1851, the park became the site of the Great Exhibition, for which Joseph Paxton built the famous Crystal Palace. Later, important demonstrations took place there and Speakers’ Corner established itself as a place of free speech. In the late 20th century, Hyde Park hosted legendary concerts, including Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and Queen.

Hyde Park is the largest of the royal parks in London. Green Park, St. James’ Park and the garden of Buckingham Palace border it to the southeast. To the west, Hyde Park merges with Kensington Gardens. The official separation of these two green spaces was made by Queen Caroline. However, the border is barely visible during the day. Only at night do the differences become apparent. While Kensington Gardens closes at dusk, Hyde Park remains open from five in the morning until midnight. In total, the duo covers 253 hectares in the middle of London, 142 hectares of which belong to Hyde Park.

Design of the park

Once the park was no longer just a private hunting ground, it was initially opened to the city’s upper classes. It was not until 1637 that Charles the First opened the park to the general public. Over time, the park took on various functions, from a military camp to a place for fortifications. The first landscaping of the park began in 1726, commissioned by King George I and later his daughter Caroline. In addition to the separation between Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, the Serpentine Lake was created by damming the River Westbourne. This still characterizes the park today and divides it into two halves. It is also still an inviting place to swim.

The south-east of the park is dominated by a rose garden with fountains, memorials and the monumental triumphal Wellington Arch. One of the park’s newest structures is the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, which is the size of a soccer pitch. At the north-eastern corner of the park is also the famous Speakers’ Corner, still a place and symbol of public freedom of speech today

Every year since 2000, between June and October, the “Serpentine Pavilion” has been open, a place for architectural experiments and projects by leading international architects. Each year, the pavilion is designed and built by different offices and architects. For example, the pavilion built in 2012 was designed by Herzog & de Meuron in collaboration with the Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei. Their pavilion leads visitors under the turf like an archaeological excavation and refers, among other things, to the eleven pavilions that previously stood here.

In 2017, Francis Kéré from Burkina Faso designed an open pavilion in Hyde Park, which was inspired by a tree that serves as a central meeting point for citizens in his home town of Gando. For 2021, Sumayya Vally from Johannisburg-based Counterspace designed a pavilion that is bursting with diversity and combines a wide range of ideas and principles.

Festivities

One of the biggest events in Hyde Park was the Great Exhibition of 1851, when the purpose-built Crystal Palace stood on the south side of the park. As the public did not want the building there after the exhibition, the architect bought it and rebuilt it in the south of London. The park was also the site of many royal jubilees and celebrations. For example, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee was held there in 2012. Since 2007, the Winter Wonderland Festival has attracted numerous visitors to Hyde Park every year. It has since become the biggest Christmas attraction in Europe, attracting over 14 million visitors in 2016.

Concerts and sporting events

The concert stage in Hyde Park has hosted many high-profile artists. Concerts have been held there three times a week since 1890. Since the early 1970s, rock musicians such as Pink Floyd, Roy Harper and Jethro Tull have performed here. The Rolling Stones also gave a concert, which is one of the most famous concerts of the 1960s. Pink Floyd made history in 2005 when they gave the last concert of their career in Hyde Park.

Meanwhile, criticism of the events is growing among the park’s residents. They are campaigning for a maximum volume of 73 decibels. Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney even found their microphones switched off after ignoring the evening curfew.

The city park is not just a green lung and a paradise for walking and jogging. Various sports facilities, from football pitches to tennis courts, cycle paths and horse trails, invite Londoners to do just that. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, the triathlon and swimming events took place in open water in Hyde Park.

The first flowers moved to the Royal Gardens in 1860. The Italian Water Garden with fountains and a summer house followed a year later. A rose garden by Colvin and Moggridge Landscape Architects was added in 1994. In the late 20th century, there was a serious turning point: over 9,000 elm trees from Queen Caroline’s time died of a disease. They were replaced by lime and maple trees. Tree sponsorships were also established to support the care and maintenance of the trees.

Hyde Park also has four hectares of greenhouses in which the plants for the royal parks are grown. Nature conservation and species protection also play a major role in Hyde Park. Both are seen as an obligation to future generations. Various partners and volunteers contribute to this. As in all metropolitan areas, habitats and biodiversity are under increasing pressure. Increasingly extreme climate change, air pollution, diseases in animals and plants are just as problematic as the pressure of use due to growing numbers of visitors. A framework plan for biodiversity should now help to maintain a healthy, resilient and connected park for future generations.

Interested in another attractive recreational area in London? At King’s Cross station, the architects at Moxon have built the Esperance Bridge pedestrian bridge over Regent’s Canal. Find out more here.