Many of Berlin’s important cultural institutions are located in the Kulturforum between Potsdamer Platz and Reichpietschufer. The individual buildings and cultural institutions will be increasingly perceived as an ensemble and the open space is to be transformed into a space worthy of the cultural institutions. Open spaces, like the future Scharounplatz, are meant to invite people to linger. But they should also improve visitor orientation in the Kulturforum.
Open space planning: the green areas between buildings
It’s pleasant to linger in the Kulturforum ensemble
Links for Additional Information
The project is based on the concept developed by landscape architects Valentien+Valentien. The state of Berlin has implemented the concept step by step since 2013.
The goal of Valentien+Valentien’s concept is to re-structure the Kulturforum, making it easier for visitors to find their way around and creating spaces where people can linger. The area to the east of the Philharmonie has already been redesigned. Visitors coming to the concert hall from Potsdamer Platz are now welcomed in an attractive entrance area.
The future Scharounplatz is being designed expansively.
Where streets and parking lots still make it difficult to get around the Kulturforum today, Scharounplatz will soon be the central open space, spatially connecting all the institutions on the site. Scharounplatz will guide visitors into the heart of the Kulturforum. It will be easy to reach the surrounding buildings, starting with the future Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, continuing on to St. Matthäus church, and then on to the Gemäldegalerie, Kupferstichkabinett, and Kunstgewerbemuseum that all line the Piazzetta.
Grün Berlin, which is in charge of the project for the state of Berlin, has current information on the progress of the open space planning project.