Radically modern

The Berlin Philharmonic, the New National Gallery, Märkisches Viertel, the Centrum department store – buildings which give Berlin its distinctive look. The Berlinische Galerie has organised a multimedia exhibition on 1960s architecture in East and West Berlin. The exhibition investigated the similarities and differences in architectural concepts and compared these with other West and East German construction projects and their corresponding views of modernity.
Based on examples of Berlin buildings and concepts by such architects as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, Josef Kaiser, Hermann Henselmann and Hans Scharoun, the exhibition outlined the history, design and architectural significance of the buildings. The presented projects – some completed and others which never made it off the drawing board – illustrated the incredible wealth of ideas of that period. Additional historic materials, such as photos and models, as well as current artistic and photographic works which interpret this period of construction contributed to the debate on preserving this architectural legacy.
The project’s catalogue portrays the architecture of Berlin of the 1960s and contains texts by architectural historians and contemporary witnesses who share their thoughts on revolution and rebellion, utopia and reality. The exhibition’s theme has been explored further in discussions with architects and artists, in film programmes and during an international symposium.

Curator: Ursula Müller
Architects: Candilis Josic Woods (FR), Werner Düttmann, Fehling + Gogel, Walter Gropius (US), Hermann Henselmann, Georg Heinrichs, Josef Kaiser, Ludwig Leo, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (US), Ulrich Müther, Hans Scharoun, Oswald Maria Ungers, Manfred Zumpe