Association for the Promotion of Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s Academy
of Architecture
Eduard Gaertner (1801-1877)
Nationalgalerie Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Association for the Promotion of Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s Academy
of Architecture
Business address:c/o IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, Markgrafenstraße
46/47,
D-10117 Berlin,
Telefon: +49 (0)30 / 31009-9122; Fax: -3812 Bank connection:
Deutsche Bank AG, Bank account no 124912700, Clearing no 100 700 00
IBAN-: DE09 1007 0000 0124 9127 00
E-mail: kf-schinkel@ikb.de
; Internet: http://www.schinkelsche-bauakademie.de
Bauakademie – Academy of Architecture
by Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Berlin was once one of Europe’s beautiful capital cities. The Brandenburg
Gate opened the baroque axis of Unter den Linden to the Forum Fridericianum
and to the Palace right in the heart of the city, which was a magnificent
baroque and neo-classical ensemble with masterworks by Andreas Schlüter
and Karl Friederich Schinkel. This urban landscape had mainly been given
its shape by Schinkel, who had added his buildings (Wache, Altes Museum,
Schlossbrücke, Friedrichwerdersche Kirche, Bauakademie) to the existing
Royal Palace, Arsenal, and Cathedral according to his modern urban concept.
During World War II the centre of Berlin was badly damaged and some
of it (e. g. the Royal Palace and Schinkel's Academy of Architecture) was
destroyed later in the post-war period creating incredibly vast voids.
In the years after the reunification of Germany in 1990 the centre of Berlin
became one large building site, and great architectural efforts being made
to build and rebuild the city's centre.
The Bauakademie was designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel and built on
the site of the western bank of the Spree River in the years 1832 – 36.
It became the prototype for the future exposed-brick buildings in Prussia,
and its extraordinary construction and building techniques were pointing
the way to modern architecture in general. By international standards the
Bauakademie was a monument of the Alte Sachlichkeit as the Bauhaus is of
the Neue Sachlichkeit.
History of the Building
The Bauakademie was the last of the group of buildings that belonged
to Schinkel's concept of the urban development of the Spree Island, the
so-called Kupfergraben landscape, a landscape garden interspersed with
cubical elements. From far it presented itself as a cube having façades
structured by eight window bays with large tripartite windows between the
colossal piers, four storeys, the floors being marked by moulding courses,
and two portals on the north side. Bands of glazed tiles enlivened the
face of the building, which was covered with the very finest tiles. The
iconographic programme – terra cotta relief panels under the windowsills
depicting "moments in the development of architecture" (Schinkel) – was
on all sides the same. In its technology and its aesthetic aspect, the
Bauakademie is held to be the germ of the multi-storeyed factories of the
19th century in Germany.
After its opening in 1836 the Bauakademie housed two Royal Prussian
authorities: the Allgemeine Bau-Unterrichtsanstalt (Academy of Architecture),
the Oberbau-Deputation (State Building Commission), whose director Schinkel
was, as well as shops on the ground floor. Later the building was used
for various institutions.
On 3 February 1945 the Bauakademie was damaged by bombs and its interior
completely destroyed by fire. First it was to be rebuilt. But in spite
of domestic and foreign protests the building was pulled down in 1961/1962
to make room for the Foreign Office of the German Democratic Republic.
After the destruction of this Foreign Office in 1995/96 the question of
the reconstruction of the Bauakademie was raised again.
Förderverein Bauakademie
The Förderverein Bauakademie (Association for the Promotion of
the Academy of Architecture) was founded in 1994 with the purpose of promoting
the reconstruction of the Bauakademie in consideration of its importance
-
as an architectural and cultural monument
-
as a first example of serial building world-wide
-
as a landmark of the Kupfergraben landscape
-
as a complimentary building to the Royal Palace (Schloss), the Altes Museum
and the Arsenal (Zeughaus)
-
as a masterpiece by Schinkel
-
as a document of the high standard of arts and crafts and organised industrial
development.
The Förderverein Bauakademie is a registered society, which is authorised
to issue receipts for donations. It wishes to inform the public about the
architectural history of the centre of Berlin, to demonstrate the key role
of Schinkel's Bauakademie within the Kupfergraben landscape and, furthermore,
to help to shape public opinion on the development of the Kupfergraben
area.
Currently its activities are summed up under the title Mythos Bauakademie.
Since June 1998 the mini exhibition Mythos Bauakademie has been
on show at the exhibition centre of the Federal Ministry of Building, now
Behrensstr.39 (next to the Hedwigskathedrale). Apart from that two publications
have appeared: a volume of essays on Mythos Bauakademie (1997) and
the exhibition catalogue Mythos Bauakademie (1998). The latter is
a collection of articles including pros and cons on the reconstruction
of the Bauakademie.
Reconstruction and New Usage of the Bauakademie
After contacting representatives of the Federal Ministry for Transport,
Building and Housing last summer the Förderverein Bauakademie founded
the Study Group on the usage and financing of the future reconstruction
of the Bauakademie, whose proposals are as follows:
-
Reconstruction of the Bauakademie with its original facade and a modern
interior
-
Usage: international congress centre with an emphasis on architectural
innovation
A large central room could be auditorium, ballroom or exhibition hall,
and further dividable rooms could provide space for seminars, restaurants,
shops and offices.
The offices might be used by the involved business companies or by the
representatives of education and arts of the Bundesländer such as
Kulturstiftung der Länder or for architectural installations. A kind
of Aspen Institute of Architecture and Urban Development could be
created, an East-West forum of architecture showing the role of Berlin
within the present international situation. On the third floor there would
still be room for guest apartments. Shops could be installed on the ground
floor as in Schinkel’s time, including an additional café or pub
to help finance the project.
Model Facade – a Reminder of the Reconstruction
The reconstruction of the model facade – the north-east bay of the Bauakademie,
planned by Horst Draheim as a reminder of and a request for the reconstruction
– was originally part of the exhibition project Mythos Bauakademie,
which did not materialise for two reasons. On the one hand the site
was temporarily occupied as a building site for the extension of the
Foreign Ministry, and on the other hand the funds were lacking. The
project Model Facade is now being executed by the Bildungsverein
Bautechnik (Association for training in traditional and modern architectural
techniques). On 1 September 1999 the Lord Mayor of Berlin laid the foundation
stone, and since 3 April 2000 the building of the facade has been under
way. The Förderverein launched the adoption of stones for the construction
of the model facade, which is positioned in such a way that it can be
integrated in the new Bauakademie building .
Exhibition-Paper (PDF-Files)
1. The Schinkel Bauakademie-
Past and Future
2. Bauakademie - history
of the building
3. Bauakademie- Re-erecting
and utilising the building
4. dto.
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