Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Akademie der Künste
The new building, erected between 2000
and 2003 by Günter Behnisch and Manfred
Sabatke, incorporates behind a vast expanse
of windows the ruins of the old art academy,
which was destroyed in World War II. Today it
is the home of the Academy of the Arts of
the Province of Berlin-Brandenburg.
French Embassy
In 1999-2001, an ele-
gant new building was
constructed by Christian
de Portzamparc, on the
site of the old embassy,
which was destroyed in
World War II. Its colon-
nades and tall windows,
a homage to the former
French Embassy palace,
are particularly remark-
able and worth seeing.
Palais am
Pariser Platz
This complex by Bern-
hard Winking, a success-
ful modern interpretation
of Neo-Classical architec-
ture, is slightly hidden to
the north of the Branden-
burger Tor. It is worth
venturing inside where
you will find a café, a
restaurant and a souvenir
shop around a pleasantly
shaded courtyard.
Eugen-Gut-
mann-Haus
With its clean lines,
the Dresdner Bank,
built in the round by
the Hamburg architects'
team gmp in 1996-7,
recalls the style of the
New Sobriety move-
ment of the 1920s. In
front of the building,
which serves as the
Berlin headquarters
of the Dresdner Bank,
stands the famous
original street sign
for the Pariser Platz.
Haus Liebermann
Josef Paul Kleihues erected
this building at the north end
of the Brandenburger Tor in
1996-8, faithfully recreating an
earlier building on the same
site. The house is named after
the artist Max Liebermann
(right)
, who lived here. In
1933, watching Nazi SA
troops march through the
Gate, he famously said:
“I cannot possibly eat as
much as I would want to
puke out.”
American
Embassy
The last gap in the line of
buildings around Pariser
Platz will be closed by
2006. A dispute between
the embassy and the
Berlin Senate delayed
building for several years:
an entire street was to
be moved to satisfy the
USA's security require-
ments. But in the end,
the historical street
stayed where it was.
For more on historical architecture in Berlin
see pp38-9
9
