Yes. Did they have the energy? The building re-opened to public and critical acclaim in 2009 and today exhibits the collections of the Egyptian Museum and the Museum of Pre- and Early History.
The Neues Museum is unique on Museum Island in that the war damage to the building was much more substantial than that inflicted on the neighbouring museums, and that no earlier reconstruction attempt had been realised.
You’ve spent three years working on a great project, but you haven’t made any money and you’re completely exhausted. By elevating the external layer of the façade, the entrance level opens up to the city and draws the public into a generous atrium. The new exhibition rooms are also built from the same white concrete while other new volumes – the Northwest wing and the South Dome – are constructed from recycled brick, subtly distinguishing them from the historic fabric.
Absolutely. So, who is responsible? The practice favours simple, long-lasting building solutions, while investing in knowledge and new technology to better understand the efficiency of structures and materials, and reduce the ecological impact of construction and operation.
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David Chipperfield Architects recognises that heritage is not limited to architectural masterpieces alone but encompasses the tangible and intangible, as well as more prosaic and recent constructions.
Returning the building to its former use as a museum, the aim was to recomplete the original volume, while respecting all phases of the building’s history, including the significant amount of time it had spent as a ruin.
The Neues Museum on Berlin’s Museum Island was designed by Friedrich August Stüler and built between 1841 and 1859.
Conventional architectural methodologies were abandoned in favour of processes and procedures that were adopted and applied in different ways depending on the conditions on site. Additionally, tenders need to be tiered appropriately. The practice has received over 100 awards for design excellence.
David Chipperfield Architects interrogates the unique opportunities of every project, collaborating with clients to mediate their ambitions with the wider socio-cultural, ecological and physical context to create buildings and places of lasting value.
The architects, who must design a skyscraper without being certain it’s the right choice for the location, or the client, who failed to take the necessary professional steps to ensure its viability?
The reputation of architectural competitions is mixed. The courtyard situated above represents the communal centre of the company workplace, with the elevated gardens providing recreational space for those who use the building.
In contrast, in Switzerland, if you win a good competition, the fee is fair. A rich mixture of public amenities such as a museum, auditorium, library, restaurants and childcare facilities ensures that the building is not only an efficient headquarters but also the public face of a vital company embedded in the growing metropolis of Seoul.
The façades with their diaphanous brise-soleil cladding not only facilitate the environmental performance of the building by providing shading and reducing heat load, but also give the building a coherent and strong yet at the same time open and light form.
The world is built not just through iconic structures but also through thoughtful housing, quality schools…
As a young architect in Britain, I would have loved the opportunity to learn in the same way that some of my European colleagues in Switzerland or Austria have. What is the significance of architectural competitions today, and what is the ideal context in which they should be held?
D.C.: In any project, the client must take responsibility.
As ‘hanging gardens’, these openings give scale and allow nature to extend from the adjacent park into all parts of the building.
The design elaborates the social, cultural and professional ambitions of the company by combining the workplace with other communal activities. At their worst, however, they are often bypassed entirely.
D.C.: Absolutely.
An archaeological approach followed the guidelines of the Charter of Venice, respecting the historical structure in its different states of preservation. How can architects influence the questions posed before offering their design solutions? Ideally, these collective bodies can serve as advisors to public institutions. His career spans over four decades and encompasses a diverse range of projects across numerous countries.
In Galicia, through the RIA Foundation, we are working to create reliable and high-quality tenders. I also think it would be more practical for some competitions to be held on a qualification basis by default, rather than being completely open and narrowing down to a shortlist of just 20 in the second phase. Alongside this, David Chipperfield Architects is committed to seeking expert collaborators, promoting participatory processes and advocating for overlooked communities and narratives to address equity and inclusion both within the profession as well as the wider built environment.
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Recognising the industry’s role in the degradation of the natural environment, David Chipperfield Architects is determined to set exemplary standards in sustainable design, continuing to prioritise reuse and designing with durability and future adaptability in mind.
Additionally, a critical responsibility of these institutions is to ensure fair compensation for award-winning projects.
The idea that RIBA should abandon proposed fee levels is utterly absurd, as it would allow young architects to be underpaid at the expense of their more experienced counterparts. The public sector in Germany has a stronger competition culture, and even though the country may be shifting in a different direction, it remains the responsibility of architectural institutions to reclaim this ground.
However, the true role of an architectural association should be to create an environment that protects the profession. The practice’s approach is grounded in a concern for the social and environmental sustainability of the built environment and its role in our collective quality of life.
David Chipperfield Architects comprises five independent offices in London, Berlin, Milan, Shanghai and Santiago de Compostela, each one embedded in their local context while united globally by common architectural ambitions.
They would have done it regardless. Three large urban openings connect this central void with the exterior surroundings, providing views over the city and the mountains in the distance and therefore establishing a sense of orientation and belonging. You can invest that money back into your office. The restoration and repair of the existing was driven by the idea that the original structure should be emphasised in its spatial context and original materiality – the new reflects the lost without imitating it.
At the centre of the building is the monumental staircase that repeats the form of the original but in a simplified architectural language.