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Contemporary critical reconstruction

Introduction

Critical reconstruction (in German: kritische Rekonstruktion) is the name given to the process of architectural and urban changes that took place in the German capital after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.[2][3] It constitutes the regulatory instrument for the urban development of the city and its contents are made up of a series of regulations or demands.[4] The movement encouraged the return to architectural typologies. traditional and tried to contribute to the awakening of the historical memory hidden in the fabric of its streets and public spaces, not through the reproduction of these elements, but through their reinterpretation.[5] Critical reconstruction is based on the incorporation of criteria and aesthetic guidelines of the ancient city of the century in current urban planning, as a method of not losing the identity of the city, in the face of the disparity in the styles of the architectural proposals that were formulated for Berlin.[6].

The official reasons given for this strategy were two: firstly, that it was necessary to repair not only the damage caused by the Second World War, but also that caused by planners during the reconstruction of the following years and, secondly, that not only the buildings, but the city as a whole needed to be rebuilt.[7] With the fall of the wall, the city found itself with swaths of undeveloped land where said barrier had been erected. This scar cut the city in the center, so German reunification changed the structure of Berlin where areas that were previously periphery were now in the center and several streets that led nowhere became main again.[1] The situation made possible a series of projects aimed at uniting the urban structures on both sides and in which it was necessary to decide between a replica of the old buildings, a critical reconstruction based on a contemporary interpretation or a total break with the past.[8] Thus, in the decades of 1990 and 2000 Berlin became the largest construction site in Europe and was transformed to once again fulfill its function as the capital of Germany. Critical reconstruction set the tone for this transformation.[1].

Originally, the term critical reconstruction corresponds to the name of a theory of architecture and urbanism developed by the Berlin architect Josef Paul Kleihues that was first applied at the International Building Exhibition in Berlin (IBA) in the 1980s. It was then used in city planning after German reunification from 1991 with the support of the Berlin Senate, but its execution was largely in the hands of Hans Stimmann), who He was the city's construction director from 1990 to 1997 and until 2006 was its planning director. From this position, the architect carried out Kleihues' idea of critical reconstruction.[9].

Contemporary critical reconstruction

Introduction

Debate

At the Fall of the Berlin Wall, West Berlin's urban planning had just reached a stage where the repair (in contrast to the "rehabilitation") of the city had become official policy under the strategy of critical reconstruction. Starting in 1990, the new authorities further distanced themselves from the idea of a unified urban plan for the eastern and western halves of Berlin.[14] Consequently, the process of rebuilding Berlin was accompanied by divergent lines of thought, with a specific focus on issues such as the evolution of the concepts of critical reconstruction and soft urban renewal.[15] The confrontation took place between neotraditionalists, on the one hand, and various avant-gardeists, on the other,[16] but the doctrine of Critical reconstruction dominated this debate, and more than an academic designation it became a criterion for political decision-making.[17][18].

Critical reconstruction and its attraction to the architecture of the imperial past, as an attack on post-World War II modernist developments, was seen by its detractors as a conservative approach to city reconstruction. However, its defenders maintained that it did not consist of the nostalgic reconstruction of the historic city, but rather the reconstruction of the modern city,[18] in accordance with urban and architectural models for 19th-century Berlin.[4] That approach was based on the point of view that the reconstruction should have a relationship with its historical legacy,[19] through the analysis of the scales and proportions of the past.[20] Its main defender has been the architectural historian. Dieter Hoffmann-Axthelm"), who has located the "essence" of Berlin in the block structure of the Friedrichstadt century.[21].

The most dramatic of the debates took place on the site of the former Royal Palace, bombed during the war, and which the East German government made the decision to demolish. The site was used only as a parking lot until the 1970s, when the Palace of the Republic "Republic Palace (Berlin)") was erected, which was the seat of the East German People's Chamber.[21] Just as East Berlin eradicated the Prussian palace, the removal of the East German palace was interpreted by its detractors as the second attempt to sideline an unfavorable regime. There is also disagreement over whether the project is part of a campaign to rehabilitate the memory of Prussian militarism and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.[22]

Characteristics

Two elements would highlight the transformation of Berlin. First, the objectives of urban policy pointed to the future and not to already solved problems of hygiene, social infrastructure, transportation, etc. Second, taking into account the limitations of the municipal administration in terms of its ability to control urban processes, Berlin sought an example of a coupling of politics and market in the service of urbanization.[18][4].

Under the critical reconstruction program, new buildings conform to the traditional height () and are coded to contain a certain percentage of masonry in the façade.[23] Added to the maximum height is the prohibition on creating curtain wall facades.[24].

The drastic urban planning would be responsible for standardizing East Berlin and West Berlin despite the fact that they had different sanitation networks.[24] Critical reconstruction wanted to develop a differentiated urban structure that is articulated as follows:[13].

• - Respect and reconstruct the historical network of streets, its axes of view and historical squares.

• - It is not necessary to build above 22 meters of eave height and 30 meters of ridge height.

• - To obtain a building permit, it is necessary to guarantee that 20% of the constructed area is dedicated to housing.

• - The objective of the new construction is the urban house occupying only a single plot. The maximum size of a plot is the block "Manzana (urbanism)").

Additionally, Kleihues added other rules to the already existing characteristics of critical reconstruction, such as:[13][4].

• - the accentuation of horizontality in the natural stone facade;.

• - the classic composition of a plinth-zone "Plinth (architecture)") used for shops, a main zone, where offices are located, and an attic zone "Attic (housing)"), with two levels for housing;.

• - the buildings must be grouped around central courtyards with different functions.

The palace is part of Berlin's critical reconstruction movement to correct the more drastic urban modernism decisions made in the post-World War II city, particularly in its eastern half.[22].

This plan, forged by its chief architect for fifteen years, Hans Stimmann, based on the concept of "critical reconstruction" developed by Josef Paul Kleihues for the International Architecture Exhibition of 1984-1987, has remade Berlin on pre-World War II plans, as if it and the communist era had not existed, and imposed rigid building regulations that vetoed, for example, the use of glass in the facades and They limited the height of buildings except in very specific cases, such as Potsdamer Platz, where they opened their hands to seduce the three multinationals that financed the project.[25].

Background

Contenido

Desde 1991, Berlín ha experimentado un período de expansión, similar al que siguió a la guerra franco-prusiana (1870-1871), que terminó con la proclamación del Imperio alemán. Entonces, el auge económico, llevó a una ola de expansión urbana impulsada en un proceso conocido como Gründerzeit (la era de los fundadores[27]) que se desarrolló en medio de la industrialización de la ciudad en la época de los llamados "constructores millonarios", que erigieron bloques de viviendas de cinco pisos en la ciudad. Las redes de calles se ampliaron y se construyeron los principales edificios necesarios para el gobierno.[14].

En ambos casos, el rápido crecimiento en la construcción fue acompañado por una considerable especulación inmobiliaria. Sin embargo, a diferencia de Gründerjahre, la expansión reciente se caracteriza por la despoblación en centro de la ciudad. Además, de su industria anterior solo queda una parte menor, y Berlín está en proceso de convertirse en un centro de la industria de servicios.[14].

Kleihues había estudiado arquitectura en las universidades de Stuttgart y Berlín y en la Escuela de Bellas Artes de París "Escuela de Bellas Artes (París)"). Su profesión, sin embargo, la ejerció sobre todo en Berlín, donde ya en 1962 -un año después de la construcción del muro- abrió un estudio de arquitectura. Ya su primer proyecto importante, un conjunto de viviendas construido en un barrio obrero en 1973, fue programático al reinstaurar como unidad territorial la clásica manzana, limitar la altura del edificio a los 22 metros que desde el siglo impera en la capital alemana e incorporar también el clásico patio interior. Era el retorno a la "ciudad europea", promovido también por otros arquitectos, como Aldo Rossi.[28].

International Urban Planning Exhibition (IBA)

In 1957, the Berlin International Exhibition "Berlin International Exhibition (1957)") (InterBau) worked on the concept «The city of yesterday». Two decades later, the Berlin architect Josef Paul Kleihues proposed and carried out the Critical Reconstruction of Berlin. offices.[30].

Between 1979 and 1987, during IBA, 28 architectural competitions were held with the aim of recovering the urban center as a residential area. The IBA was born out of concern that West Berlin's commercial and social center was shifting westwards away from the wall. Architects led by Kleihues also expressed alarm that urban planners in both east and west Berlin were "deconstructing" the "European city" by building wide avenues and housing far from workplaces. They considered that modernism had gone too far, so they favored what they called "critical reconstruction" of Berlin.[9].

At that time, the Council of Europe contributed to the imposition on the continent of urban development principles such as the protection of historic localities, the careful conversion of the urban fabric and reuse of old buildings, as well as the reconstruction of destroyed buildings. In addition, he promoted the limitation of motorized traffic and the promotion of pedestrian traffic, and also advocated for the recovery of public space, mixing land uses, etc. An important consequence of this campaign was the emergence of critical reconstruction.[18] Among the basic principles, critical reconstruction included above all the restoration of historic streets, facades and traditional principles of urban design regarding heights, widths of streets and sidewalks.[18].

The aim of the IBA 1987 edition was to develop and revitalize selected "demonstration areas" in West Berlin following the concept of critical reconstruction where new buildings were based on the history in their respective location.[32] Urban planning and architecture during the crucial season following the fall of the wall, with the intellectual and methodological heritage IBA 1987, of which the concept of critical reconstruction is the most important feature.[15] IBA 1987 It included various construction styles, as designers such as Álvaro Siza, Arata Isozaki, Rem Koolhaas and Oswald Mathias Ungers experimented with the emblematic five-story residential block in Berlin.[33] It was Kleihues who directed the exhibition and who convinced these architects to participate in it.[28]

The IBA'87 was an urban and architectural plan of the West Berlin Senate undertaken with the aim of recovering residential use in the city center. Composed of two parts:[34].

• - The new IBA (IBA Neubau), under the title “critical reconstruction” and directed by Kleihues, sought to integrate contemporary constructions into the fabric of the historic city that had survived the Second World War.

• - The old IBA (IBA Altbau), headed by the architect Hardt-WaltherrHämer), and titled “careful urban renewal” (Behutsame Stadterneuerung), focused on the rehabilitation of existing buildings.

Development

El postulado de la reconstrucción crítica no sólo se mantuvo al pie de la letra tras la reunificación de la ciudad, sino que fue adoptado como doctrina oficial por la administración pública.[28] Así, la reinvención de Berlín acabó sujeta a un sinfín de directrices pensadas para asegurar la homogeneidad urbanística del siglo .[28].

La especialista en arquitectura alemana Wallis Miller, ha afirmado que “la sección de nuevos edificios para la «reconstrucción crítica de la ciudad» empezaba generalmente con un concurso por invitación para diseñar las distintas manzanas "Manzana (urbanismo)") y terminaba con la asignación a los arquitectos invitados de los edificios particulares en cada una”.[35].

La reconstrucción crítica, debía llevarse a cabo con conservadurismo en la planificación urbana a través de la arquitectura contemporánea, no a través de la repetición de los edificios demolidos.[30] Este principio también se mantuvo cuando se le dio una base urbana amplia bajo la planificación de Berlín de Stimmann. Fue solo cuando se le preguntó sobre el diseño del centro de la ciudad que la reconstrucción crítica recurrió a una reconstrucción histórica.[30].

La renovación, adquirió un ritmo acelerado gracias al nombramiento de Hans Stimmann"), como director de obras públicas de la ciudad en 1991, quién extendió la filosofía de la Behutsame Stadterneuerung") a toda la ciudad, llevando el término reconstrucción crítica para describir su enfoque hacia la reparación de la dañada estructura de Berlín.[1] Durante la década de 1980, Stimmann era miembro del Partido Socialdemócrata de Alemania (SPD) y estaba era especialista en Berlín Oeste de Berlín Este dentro de la IBA. Por eso, cuando se derrumbó el muro se convirtió en una figura fundamental y fue llamado por su partido para asumir la tarea de inventar nuevos instrumentos de planificación para Berlín unificado.[15].

La cuestión de cómo desarrollar un Berlín unificado se guio por un marco "Planwerk Innenstadt&action=edit&redlink=1 "Planwerk (Berlin) (aún no redactado)")" de Stimmann en tanto que Director de Construcción del Senado de la ciudad. Así se reintrodujo el concepto de reconstrucción crítica para el Friedrichstadt, la Potsdamer Platz, el área de Lehrter Bahnhof y el Spreeinsel.[36] Stimmann reunió a arquitectos de renombre para trabajar en la ciudad, al tiempo que les daba pautas rígidas de reconstrucción crítica a las que les pidió que se conformaran.[37] Hasta 2006, Stimmann fue el responsable de planificación urbana dentro del gobierno local de Berlín.[15].

También en sus propios edificios, Kleihues se sometió al canon que había contribuido a crear. Por su gestión fue conocido como el "regente" y el "arquitecto con permiso de construcción incorporado".[28] Poco antes de su muerte, aún estaba empeñado en crear en la capital alemana un archivo arquitectónico en la Academia de arquitectura de Berlín, un edificio diseñado en la primera mitad del siglo por Karl Friedrich Schinkel, artífice del Berlín prusiano.[28].

El objetivo elegido por el gobierno de la ciudad era recrear una edad anterior que eliminara las referencias a las eras nocivas del pasado reciente. Siempre que sea posible, quieren restaurar los patrones de calles y las líneas de construcción anteriores a la guerra.[38].

La suma total invertida en la reconstrucción de la capital entre 1990 y 2000 ascendió a una suma equivalente a 150 000 millones de euros.[14].

Leipzig and Potsdam squares

This sector was the most fashionable and international scene during the 1920s. Potsdamer Platz – which was never exactly a square nor is it now – was completely destroyed during the Second World War, it completed its resurgence in 2004. It was there where the redesign of Berlin began, in an area that was divided into five districts that bear the name of a brand or multinational business group. The first stone of this critical reconstruction was laid in the Daimler district, a company that shortly before the fall of the Wall had acquired a plot of land from the city council on Potsdamerplatz.[39].

Renowned architects such as Renzo Piano, Rafael Moneo and Arata Isozaki participated in the reconstruction. The Beisheim Center, an office and apartment complex named in honor of Otto Beisheim, has been built. The inauguration of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel (2004) - one of its central pieces - marks the end of the total recovery of Potsdamer Platz, once again converted into one of the nerve centers of Berlin.[40].

Government district

Following the decision to move the federal capital from Bonn to Berlin, various projects were initiated to construct new buildings to house the headquarters of the country's main institutions. The most emblematic work was the complete remodeling of the interior of the historic Reichstag building "Reichstag (German parliament)"), as well as the restoration of its façade and the construction of a dome with a new modern design, markedly different from the original. The building has a main hall that is tall, transparent and functional. From the Plaza de la República you can see the west door of the building that operates as a reception for visitors, who, if they are not registered, arrive directly at the terrace, which offers a panoramic view of the neighboring buildings and access to the dome. Sensitivities about the history of the Reichstag have been taken into account in the critical reconstruction of the building.[41] The new dome of the Reichstag by architect Norman Foster aims to embody the idea of a transparent democracy since behind the glass walls is the west hall, from where the chamber can be seen.[42].

Nearby, on the north side, three complementary buildings were built, completing what is known as the parliamentary complex. Among them, the Paul Löbe building houses the deliberation rooms and the deputies' offices. The other building, the Jakob Kaiser, houses the historic palace of the President of the Reichstag, the parliamentary services and the office of the Bundestag. Finally, there is the Marie-Elisabeth Lüders building that stands on the east bank of the Spree, aligned with the Paul Löbe building, to which it is linked by a pedestrian bridge. Its rotunda houses the committee room for affairs related to the European Union (EU). This building houses the Bundestag Library, which has a bibliographic collection of 1.5 million volumes.[43].

Opposite the Paul Löbe building, architect Axel Schultes designed the seven-story federal chancellery building "Federal Chancellery (Berlin)") which opened in 2001. The head of government's office has a direct view of Parliament. On a plot of land it houses 400 offices and green spaces. An underground corridor links the Paul Löbe, the Reichstag and the Jakob Kaiser.

The train and subway stations have been remodeled, and in May 2006 the Berlin Central Station was inaugurated, which will be the driving force for the development of this area, with an urbanization plan that maintains a balance between offices, hotels, shops, homes and green areas. Along with this station, four others were inaugurated on the north-south and east-west axis of Berlin, to complete the largest transport node in Europe.[44] The building does not correspond to the principles of critical reconstruction, which is why architect Daniel Libeskind stated in an interview that Stimmann had told him: “If I had been in power only a month earlier, the building would never have received the construction permit.”[11].

From the Brandenburg Gate to Old Berlin

A few meters southeast of the Reichstag is the Brandenburg Gate with its chariot, an icon of the city. From there an axis is marked that extends between Paris Square and Alexanderplatz, where several notable buildings have been built.

In Paris Square "Paris Square (Berlin)"), an emblematic place in Berlin's history, the French embassy stands out, rebuilt on the same lot (expanded) that it has occupied since 1860, when Napoleon III purchased a building that would house the diplomatic representation of France. The construction was destroyed during the Second World War and the land was unoccupied until the 1990s, when France began the construction of its new embassy, the work of Christian de Portzamparc, and inaugurated in 2003 on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the Treaty of the Elysée. On the same side of the square is the Max Liebermann house, which was rebuilt in the sense of critical reconstruction based on the historical model.[45].

On the other side of the square is the Berlin Academy of Arts, inaugurated in May 2005. In this way the institution returned to its historic location. After years of controversy, the headquarters reopened faithful to the principles of critical reconstruction.[46] At a cost of approximately 60 million euros, the design of the building was carried out by architect Günter Behnisch. Right next to the Academy is the Adlon Hotel, originally opened in 1904. This hotel became one of the most renowned in the city. Although it survived World War II in good condition, it was demolished in 1984. The new building was completed in 1997, preserving the original design of the facades.

Continuing along the avenue Under the Lime Trees (Unter den Linden), there are important buildings that have been restored, such as the Museum of German History, where the Berlin Declaration was proclaimed in 2007, and other buildings that have been completely rebuilt, such as the Kommandantenhaus (Alte Kommandantur), which despite having suffered minor war damage, was demolished in the 1960s and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the GDR, which in turn was also demolished in 1995. In February 1999, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder ordered an investor to be found for the reconstruction of the building.[47] Thus, after having rebuilt three sides of its façade in 2005, the building is the non-main headquarters of the Bertelsmann group.[48] In front of this building, the Berlin Academy of Architecture is planned to be rebuilt, a masterpiece by Friedrich Schinkel, who designed it. almost all important buildings from the first half of the century in Berlin.[49].

On the other side of the river, the avenue is renamed Karl-Liebknecht-Straße") and leads to the Spree Island on whose southern bank the Royal Berlin Palace of the Hohenzollern Dynasty that stood in this city and was destroyed in 1950 is currently being rebuilt,[50] being replaced in the 1970s by the Palace of the Republic "Palace of the Republic (Berlin)"). (building in which the GDR voted to join the Federal Republic[21]) which was itself demolished in 2008. The German parliament then decided to rebuild the palace on its former location under the policy of critical reconstruction, as a symbol of unity for the nation.[51].