Category: Part 2

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Exercise 1.3: Precedent Research: History and Geography

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The Reichstag’s beginnings

In 1871 a competition was held to design a building to house the German Parliament, after Germany’s mini states unified and became the United States of Imperial Germany. The creation of the Reichstag was however fraught with problems and was not completed until 1894.

The architect who won the competition, Ludwig Bonhnstedt, was found to be half Russian which was distasteful for the German people. Another issue was that the site which had been chosen to build the Reichstag, close to the Brandenburg Gate in the Spreebogan, bulge of the River Spree, on the Raczynski Palace grounds had not been given prior agreement by the owner, Count Raczynski. The Count, displeased he had not been consulted would not agree to the purchase of the site until after his death, which happened in 1872. The transfer was not straight forward however, it took time for the counts son to agree the purchase, eventually doing so in 1881. By this time Bonhnstedt’s design had fallen out of favour and another competition ensued. This time the competition was narrowed to German speaking architects only. In 1882 the prize was announced to two 1st prize winners Paul Wallot and Friedrich Theirsch but Theirschs’ design was not developed and the task lay with Paul Wallot.

Location of the Reichstag, Berlin, Germany Figure 1. Storming of the Reichstag 1945 Figure 2. Modern day Berlin
  • Figure 1
  • Figure 2

Wallot’s design came under criticism for its mix of architectural styles, which, as part of my research I myself have found myself to be true. Some sources say it is Neo-Baroque another Neo-classical another High Renaissance and classical with another stating ‘loosely Italianate in style but, jumbled together elements from a wide variety of sources including Gothic, Romanesque Baroque and Germanic’ (Foster, 2000: 40). It is indeed highly decorated with inscriptions, sculptures and reliefs. The façade comprised of columned porticos with wide steps which lead to a protruding triangular shaped gable. There are four wings to the building two inner court yards and in the centre an assembly chamber.

Wallot’s highly decorative exterior

Wallot’s design was changed numerous times by Kaiser Wilhelm, the most contentious feature being the dome. Wallot had designed this to be above the assembly chamber to the rear of the building and to be of a stone structure. The Kaiser objected suggesting the dome should be towards the front. Not until after the Kaiser died and Kaiser Wilhelm II was in power was it agreed that the dome could be placed at the rear but at the Building Commissioners recommendation was made smaller and from glass.

Figure 3

Wallot had wanted Deutshcen Volke – To the German People – to be inscribed on the building but the Kaiser objected, later however, as a gesture of German unity it was inscribed in 1916 during World War I. ‘The bronze letters themselves constituted a gesture within a gesture, cast as they were from Napoleonic cannon captured at the Battle of Leipzig a century earlier’ (Foster, 2000: 40).

Figure 4.

Wallot’s interior consisted of the chamber, a library, a writing room, a committee room, sweeping staircases and other principal rooms. Interior decoration was intensely Germanic – highly decorative with carvings, paintings, tapestries, stain glass and sculptures.

  • Figure 5
  • Figure 6

The Reichstag’s political history

The years that pursued saw political fractions and turmoil in Germany and within the Reichstag. In 1932 the Reichstag was taken control of by the Nazis and in 1933 Hitler was appointed chancellor, but without a working majority. On the left the two largest parties after the Nazis were the Socialist Democratic Party and The Communist Party. New elections were to be called on the 5th of March but on the 27th of February fire broke out rendering the Reichstag unusable. Hitler blamed the Communists for which a number were charged with arson and executed.

Prior to the fire, consideration had been given to the extension of the Reichstag and it’s surrounds to ensure it’s future suitability for parliamentary activities. In 1927 and again in 1929 competitions were held to redesign parts of the Reichstag and its surrounding areas but none came to fruition. After the fire the Nazi’s made some repairs to use it as an exhibition space and then as a war broke out again as a maternity hospital and space for military provisions.

After Berlin was badly struck by air raids in 1940 the Reichstag was used like a fortress with windows bricked up to avoid further damage to the interior and anti aircraft guns sat on top of it’s towers. But in 1945 The Red Army advanced firing on the Reichstag leaving it almost unrecognisable.

The Russian capture of the Reichstag was hugely symbolic. The Reichstag was the reason there was no Red revolution in Germany, it was also the cause of the death of Communists blamed for the fire and home of the Nazi’s who had invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. This the reason why Russian officers took great efforts to vandalise and scribe graffiti across it’s walls and columns to protest and tell Hitler what they thought of him.

Figure 7

The Reichstag’s modern history and developments

The Reichstag lay in ruins until 1954 when the remainder of the dome was demolished but in 1957 a start was made to the renovate the exterior. More turmoil was on it’s way however when the East German Government began the construction of a wall to prevent the loss of East Germans into the West through Berlin, The Reichstag was symbolic in the split as it sat on the very edge of the western side of the wall.

Figure 8

The Reichstag underwent further restoration under architect Paul Baumgarten and in 1961 opened to be used as a conference venue and museum of modern German history, without a dome and with much of it’s past stripped away. Little thought or care had been given to the historical significance of the building in Baumgarten’s designs. Foster himself comments that ‘Paul Baumgarten’s reconstruction was at odds with the original form of the building.’ (Foster, 2000: 76) Other than Fosters comments I have been unable to find much about what was thought about Baumgarten’s refurbishment of the Reichstag. The fact that there is little information and that some Reichstag research sources appear to gloss over this part of the Reichstag’s history, would suggest there is little to say about Baumgarten’s work on the Reichstag.

Things took a different course for the Reichstag after the fall of the Berlin wall and the reunification of Germany. In 1991 it was agreed that Berlin should once again be home to the German parliament and later agreed that the Bundestag be housed in the Reichstag. Foster was appointed in 1993 but prior to Fosters restoration of the Reichstag an art project, which originated in 1971, came to fruition when artists Christo and Jean Claude wrapped the Reichstag in more than a million square feet of fabric rendering the large wounded bulk of a building ‘light, almost delicate. It takes on an ethereal beauty, and looks as if it could float away into the silvery, cloudy Berlin sky.’ (Goldberg, 1995)

  • Figure 9

Restoring the Reichstag: historical, political and cultural design decisions

In contrast with Baumgarten’s reconstruction Foster appears to have taken all of the Reichstag’s historical past into consideration. The new Reichstag was to be a symbol for not forgetting the past but for moving on, a symbol of Germany’s future, togetherness, openness and without boundaries. To communicate this the brief had a robust ecological agenda; the use of daylight, transparency and to provide public access to create a truly democratic building. Foster also focused on the Bundestag itself understanding the way it worked and what it’s needs were, so much so Foster proposed that the building could provide space for other political parties, rather than house them else where, as was the intention. He also proposed space for the press. His understanding of the buildings history, it’s future and his knowledge of German parliament won him the competition.

Much of what Wallot had designed and built had been destroyed but Foster admired Wallot’s ‘well-planned and logical building’ compared to Baumgarten’s which ‘was at odds with the original form of the building’. (Foster, 2000: 76) But when peeling away the surfaces Foster uncovered some of Wallot’s Reichstag as well as the graffiti left by the Soviet Soldiers. Foster was determined that these elements should stay as a true living history. When this was agreed Foster felt Germany had proven it was now a truly democratic culture.

Foster respected the old building during the restoration, retaining Wallot’s original floor levels, qualities of his planning grid and restoring some architectural features. Where old meets new the cross over is clearly denoted.

  • Figure 10
  • Figure 11

Foster also had to take the building into the future, which he did so by eliminating as many ‘secret’ spaces as possible and opening the compartmentalised building Wallot had created. The most significant change to the building was cutting through the building from top to bottom, mainly over the chamber to expose the building to light and views and to erect the cupola. A Cupola which is open to the public with it’s surrounding public roof terrace. The building is split into separate areas for The President, MPs, administration, press and public, some areas of course cross over. It was important that the building did not portray a them-and-us attitude, Foster’s design ensures this is not the case. Everyone comes through the same front door, first alighting the grand steps leading to a 30-meter high foyer. The chamber was designed to feel intimate so that when only a small group of MPs are attending it does not provide a sense of dominance. Chamber seating and public tribunes are closely arranged so the public can attend to listen to debates and not feel disconnected from the proceedings while Mezzanine connecting bridges allow views to look down into the east foyer which at times is used for formal events. On entering the building the public can see directly through a glass partition where the Bundestag sits including the president, the chancellor and other political leaders. Public, politicians and press can mix and relax on the roof terrace and restaurant.

  • Figure 12
  • Figure 13
Areas within the Reichstag

The cupola, which was developed over time, was designed not only to bring daylight into and through the building but to ventilate it too. For Foster the cupola was ‘a marker on the Berlin skyline, communicating themes of lightness, transparency, permeability and public access that underscore the project’. (Foster, 2000: 87). It also provides views over Berlin allowing you to see the significance of the modern day Reichstag’s positioning, with the Tiergarten and new Chancellery Buildings to the west, the historical quarter to the east, Potsamer Platz’s new commercial towers to the south and in front, the Brandenburg gate.

The ecological brief was further upheld – the building does not burn fossil fuels but vegetable oil which through a process of cogeneration produces electricity. Excess heat is stored below the ground and through a variety of process can be used to heat the building or produce cold water. 94% less emissions of carbon dioxide are produced, in a building which works as a small power station producing more energy than it uses.

Conclusion

Understanding the history of the Reichstag has been fascinating, the historical significance of the building is huge. From its beginnings it was adorned with stained glass, art work and statues to depict the unity Germany had come to know at that time. It’s 4 towers signifying the four kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Wurttemberg and statues created to epitomise defence against evil, such as dragon slaying and eagles wining the fight with snakes. There too were symbols of trade, agriculture and art, prosperous under the German empire. But the scars of fire and war are as much depictions of history as the statues and art work. The fact that the building, although wounded, battled on and stood the test of time is hugely symbolic for what Germany and it’s people have been through. With what I have come to know about the building and its past I believe it was truly the right thing for Parliament to return to the Reichstag and not just create a monument or museum but to continue its story and to give it new life. To keep the graffiti and memories of its troubled passed is an honorable thing to do and to invite in the public and let them see the past as well as the future in this magnificent building seems truly progressive. Foster I feel has managed to make a hugely sustainable building, to renew and reinvigorate it in exactly the way the German people wanted while creating a fantastic piece of architecture that people from all over the world can take the opportunity to enjoy and learn from.

Bibliography

Images

Figure 1. Storming the Reichstag [Map]http://www.armchairgeneral.com/rkkaww2/maps/1945W/1BF/Berlin/756RR_assault_45.jpg. (Accessed on 01.03.19)

Figure 2. Ariel photograph of the Spree (2010) [Photograph] https://maprhizome.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/berlin-aerial-plan1.jpg. (Accessed on 01.03.19)

Figure 3. Internal Reichstag [photograph]https://i.pinimg.com/736x/6e/6c/4d/6e6c4d988918f5f1966853b97721d987–reichstag-potpourri.jpg (Accessed 02.03.19)

Figure 4. Internal Reichstag [photograph]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Bundesarchiv_Bild_116-121-007%2C_Mitglieder_des_Deutschen_Reichstag.jpg. (Accessed on 03.03.19)

Figure 5. To The German People[photograph]https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5131/5398562040_f2024639b5_b.jpg. (Accessed on 03.03.19)

Figure 6. Internal Reichstag [photograph]http://slideplayer.com/slide/10990123/39/images/5/Interior+of+the+Bundesrat+(1899-1903).jpgate (Accessed on 02.03.19)

Figure 7. Reichstag [photograph]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Berlin-Reichstag_1929.jpg. (Accessed on 01.03.19)

Figure 8. Construction of the Berlin Wall [photograph]http://theimageworks.com/pub/nn032/berlinwall/images/prevs/prev4.jpg. (Accessed on 01.03.19)

Figure 9. Wrapped Rechistag (2017) [photograph]https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/feb/07/how-we-made-the-wrapped-reichstag-berlin-christo-and-jeanne-claude-interview. (Accessed on 01.03.19)

Figure 10. Reichstag restored Graffiti [photograph] http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-58HR-uqjhEM/Tj2JNsDhFTI/AAAAAAAAAIM/bLa-hVCiF38/s1600/IMG_5484.JPG. (Accessed 02.03.19)

Figure 11. Reichstag interior [photograph]https://arcretrofitting.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/img12.jpg. (Accessed on 02.03.19)

Figure 12. Reichstag chamber [photograph]https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/reichstag-new-german-parliament/#gallery. (Accessed on 03.03.19)

Figure 13. Reichstag views [photograph]https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/reichstag-new-german-parliament/#gallery. (Accessed on 03.03.19)

Sources

Berlin.de. (2019). Reichstag. berlin.de. At: https://www.berlin.de/en/attractions-and-sights/3560965-3104052-reichstag.en.html (Accessed on 01.03.19)

Goldberger, P. (1995). Christo’s Wrapped Reichstag: Symbol for the New Germany. Nytimes.com. [online]At: https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/23/arts/christo-s-wrapped-reichstag-symbol-for-the-new-germany.html (Accessed on 01.03.19)

History Learning Site. (2019). The Reichstag Fire of 1933 – History Learning Site. [online] At: https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/nazi-germany/the-reichstag-fire-of-1933/ (Accessed on 01.03.19)

Foster, N. (2000). Rebuilding the Reichstag. Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press.

http://www.fosterandpartners.com, F. (2019). Reichstag, New German Parliament | Foster + Partners. Fosterandpartners.com. At: https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/reichstag-new-german-parliament/ (Accessed on 03.03.19)

Exercise 1:2 Precedent Research: Focus – the Designer and The Building

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1 – Fosters Reichstag

For this precedent research exercise I have chosen to look at the Reichstag Building in Berlin, Germany and it’s designer Sir Norman Foster.

Norman Foster

Born in Manchester, UK in 1935

Trained at The University of Manchester from 1956-61 and then Yale University in the US from 1961-62.

In 1967 he established his own architectural company which later became known as Foster + Partners.

Foster was knighted in 1990 and granted a life peerage in 1999.

Awards:         Pritzker Prize – 1999   The Japan Art Associations Praemium Imperiale prize for architecture – 2002 Aga Khan award – 2007

Foster’s early life and influences

Foster had an unconventional route to becoming an architect. Firstly he came from a working class background, at a time when it was not typical for a young person of his social class to go to University. From an early age however Foster had interests which clearly directed and influenced his path in architecture. As a teenager he was an avid reader of The Eagle magazine with, Dan Dare -Pilot of the Future, which often depicted a space age world, ‘of atomic powered monorails and levitating taxis.’ (Sudjic, 2010: 3) Such taxi’s look similar to the Rapid Transport System Foster designed for Masdar City. The Eagle magazine also provided intricate engineering illustrations such as the Dome of Discovery and Coventry Cathedral, which was described as ‘The Cathedral of the Space Age’ (Sudjic, 2010: 10). Studying the Eagles many intricate illustrations would appear to be a clear influence on Fosters state-of-the-art designs.

3 – Eagle Magazine with Dan Dare Pilot of the future
4 – Masdar Rapid Transport System

There was an early more direct link to architecture when Foster, who spent many hours in his local library in Levenshulme, discovered LeCorbusier’s Vers une architecture and Henry-Russell Hitchocks tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright – In the Nature of Materials.

While at home Foster played with Meccano and Trix construction kits, developing structures beyond the creators expectations.

Leaving school at 16 Foster took a job at Manchester Town Hall. Here he would take different routes through the building to study the 13th Century Gothic buildings narrative. During breaks from work he would take walks to look at what architecture Manchester had to offer, on one such walk he discovered the Daily Express Building in Ancotes, designed by William Owens. The black sleek curved building clearly influenced Fosters design for the Willis Faber Dumas Insurance Company’s office in Ipswich.

6 – Daily Express Building
7 –
Willis Faber Dumas insurance company’s offices

Other architectural influences for Foster were Mies van der Rohe, a previous director of the Bauhaus who pioneered the use of steel and glass, as can be seen with his 1958 Seagram Building. Steel and glass became a staple of Fosters buildings.

8 – Seagram Building

Foster built a personal and professional relationship with inventor Buckminster Fuller. Fuller did not formally train in architecture and design but worked in this area and was known as a ‘design scientist’ (Bfi.org, 2019). It was Fuller’s ideology in solving social issues including problems with housing, transport and poverty and the influence Fuller had on scientists, architects and designers to work in a sustainable way that Foster admired so much. We see this ideology throughout Fosters work.

Norman Foster designs

Foster + Partners have become a prolific architectural firm, designing and building state of the art structures across the world, including; commercial buildings, airports, exhibition spaces and bridges. Below is an example of just a few of Norman Foster’s creations.

Sainsbury’s Centre for Visual Arts (Norwich, England 1976)

Built on the campus of the University of East Anglia the Sainsburys Centre for the Visual Arts is a vast space created by a prefabricated structure of steel, glass and aluminium panels. 

The centre was created to ensure great consideration was given to the objects it displays, which in part is through its clever use of light, through natural and artificial sources.

Light, which streams through full height windows at each end of the building, can be controlled with louvers in the buildings interior. The windows provide a connection to its surrounding landscape with views at either end.

10 – Sainsbury’s Centre for the Visual Arts
11 – Sainsburys Centre for the Visual Arts

Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Head Quarters (Hong Kong, China 1986)

For the HSBC building, Foster was to create ‘the best bank in the world’.
(www.fosterandpartners.com, 2019)

Like the Sainsburys Centre for Visual Arts, services within the building are pushed to the edges of the building providing adequate floor space for a building which was required to be over a million square feet.

The building consists of 3 towers at 29, 36 and 44 stories high, creating varying heights and floors with different dimensions.

The building also offers garden terraces and a 10 story atrium. Through the atrium sunlight is reflected, with the creation of a mirrored ‘sunscoop’, down to a plaza below which has become a popular sheltered spot for the public to picnic.

In a high-tech assured manner, the building reflects the nature of banking in Hong Kong at that time of its creation.

  • 13 – HSBC
  • 14 – HSBC, public Plaza

Commerzbank Headquarters (Frankfurt, Germany 1997)

When completed the Commerzbank was the tallest building in Europe, at 53 stories high and the first ecological office tower in the world.

New concepts of lighting and ventilation were developed by installing windows which could be opened, giving more control to those that occupied the building, reducing by half the energy consumption of traditional office towers.

The building is comprised of winter gardens, an atrium and office clusters like villages, providing spaces to meet and relax.

The central atrium provides natural ventilation by transporting light and air around the offices.

The existing buildings surrounding the tower were thoughtfully restored to fit with the original surroundings. Further, they provide amenities to the local community including, shops, cafe’s, parking and a galleria.

  • 16 – Commerzbank
  • 17 – Commerzbank

Masdar City (Abu Dhabi, UAE 2014)

Masdar is a state of the art city, a vision of the Abu Dhabi government to ensure a sustainable city which can live in a world when oil is no longer a regular commodity.

Masdar aims to provide zero waste and be carbon neutral. It is home to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Its rapid transport system is free of fossil flues and areas around the city will comprise of wind and photovoltaic farms with research fields and plantations meaning the city will become self sufficient for energy. It is a city which ‘offers a blueprint for the sustainable city of the future.’ (www.fosterandpartners.com, 2019)

19 – Masdar City
20 – Masdar City

Design Philosophy

As can be seen from the examples above Norman Foster is and has always been about High Tech design and sustainability, even before sustainability was fashionable or the expected norm within new architecture. Foster + Partners have a dedicated Sustainability Group to ensure continual improvements and progression in sustainable design and an Environmental Engineering Team to design ecological systems and advance user experiences.

Foster believes it’s a combination of elements that creates the best architecture; involving it’s construction materials, light, amenities, how a design relates to buildings and the landscape around it and how it makes individuals feel.

Patterns can be seen in Fosters work with his frequent use of steel and glass and the triangular shaped panes of glass which can be seen in the Swiss Re building, the Hearst Tower and the British Museum.

21 – Swiss Re Building
  • 22 – Hearst Tower
  • 23. British Museum

But what is most noticeable about Fosters work is his values. ‘Foster describes architecture as the expression of values’ (Study.com, 2019)
and it is clear to see Foster’s designs are technological, adaptable and ecological. The Sainsburys Centre for Visual Arts was built in a way that it could be extended, as it later was. The HSBC building provides gardens and a ‘sunscoop’ which directs sunlight onto a public plaza below. The Commerzbank is ventilated naturally for 85% of the year and Masdar City aims to be carbon neutral. Some other examples expressing these values are:

Chateau Margaux – where Premier Cru wine is produced. Foster + Partners were instructed to design a new building, the first since the estate was originally built in the early 1900s. Foster + Partners designed new state of the art buildings as well as refurbishing old ones to allow for better more flexible use of space and to further the premium wine making process in a modern world. This state of the art design was however done in a way that the new buildings fit with the existing architecture and landscape.

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Daylight streams through openings designed in Tocumen International Airport’s roof to reach every corner of the building and the overhang prevents the glass exterior from solar gain, which reduces the requirement for powered ventilation.

25.

The SEC Armadillo is a symbolic symbol for Glasgow, representing the city’s history of ship building with a sequence of metal clad hulls. Inside it has state-of-the-art technology allowing for a flexible space which can deliver concerts, conferences and commercial functions.

26.

Further to the traits looked at above Foster believes in the importance of creating public spaces, even within commercial designs as was seen with the public plaza below the HSBC, Hong Kong Headquarters and the public amenities around the Commerzbank. Foster has stated; ‘Public spaces are more important than buildings. They make a city alive.’ (Study.com, 2019) This has been a clear characteristic of Fosters designs from as early as the 70s when he designed the Willis Faber and Dumas Headquarters in Ipswich; which consisted of a pool, a roof cafeteria and roof lawn in order to create a community space. Public Space is a significant element in the transformation of the Reichstag; ‘where else in the world could everyone – citizens and visitors – walk through the main ceremonial entrance of their national Parliament building together with the politicians, rise to a public plaza on the roof, continue by ramps to a viewing platform, look down into the main chamber of Parliament below, or meet for a coffee or a meal.’ (Foster, 2000: 12)

The Reichstag Building

The Reichstag is a hugely symbolic building. It had once been the seat of the German parliament and in 1999 it was to be yet again. After the fall of the Berlin wall, of which the Reichstag sat close to, the reunification of Germany and the decision for Berlin to once again become the German capital it was agreed that the Reichstag be refurbished and once again be home to the German Parliament.

As had been inscribed on the building Dem Deutschen Volke – ‘To The German People’ Foster had to understand the buildings history and it’s future and the future of the German people.

27.

Rita Sussmuth, former president of the German Bundestag stated that ‘the building should transmit ‘a spirit of openness, freedom from national boundaries, and above all the pursuit of peaceful coexistence and cooperation between nations’. (Foster, 2000: 8) This was the concept for which Foster had to refurbish the building. He was to design and refurbish the building so that the German people felt they once again belonged to a unified country, to eliminate restriction by allowing the public into the building and for there to be transparency within the building, allowing the public to feel that it was theirs and rightfully democratic.

28.

It was for these reasons that Foster designed the glass cupola which replaces the buildings original dome. The cupola brings light into the building. This too has assisted in Fosters requirements for energy efficient buildings by using mirrors to reflect natural daylight into the building and creating a ventilation system which hugely reduces the need for fossil fuels.

29.

I feel very ashamed to admit that before researching Norman Foster and the Reichstag building I knew of Norman Foster but knew little about him and his vast portfolio of work. Considering my appreciation of buildings and the number of his buildings that I have not necessary been in but have witnessed from the outside, it seems absurd that I had such little knowledge. The majority of my research was factual information about his buildings taken from Foster + Partners website or other educational and architectural websites. These provided accurate information about the purpose of projects, the building materials used and their designs etc. His architectural ethos and ethics were also explained in these sources as they were explained in his biography A life in architecture by Deyan Sudjic. I read this biography to get a much greater understanding of Foster, understand his history, his influences and why has architecture has the character it has. There is no doubt that Sudjic has a great affection for Foster, they have worked together and clearly have a relationship of some sort, as Sudjic states ‘Over the years there have been dinners, and rides in his cars. He flew me to Manchester once’. (Sudjic, 2010: 294). Sudjac does touch on the projects which have gone wrong such as the millennium bridge and mentions Fosters occasional outbursts of rage but in the main the book is very biased towards the greatness of Norman Foster and his buildings, which is something which I have come away with from this research too. I greatly admire Fosters passion and determination from an early age, particularly as he began life in adverse circumstances. His foresight and progressive attitude towards ecological architecture and use of space in and around his buildings is hugely commendable. Foster appeared to always put people are at the forefront of our need for architecture. I do not know enough about other architects to compare Foster too and do not know enough about what has gone wrong or has not worked to have an unbiased opinion but from the facts I have learned I currently feel I would find it hard to change my admiration for Norman Foster. With regards to the Reichstag building itself, I have been outside but unfortunately did not have the opportunity to go in, something I hope to rectify in the not too distant future. Foster appears to have given the German people what they wanted by carefully restoring the old and not shying away from history while adding the new dome, bringing in light and transparency to this new future for Germany. Having stood outside the Reichstag however I do not think these political, moral and architectural aspects can be fully appreciated and it will take to being inside the building and cupola to fully understand what it means.

Bibliography

Images

Figure 1.Cdn.britannica.com. (2014). [online] At: https://cdn.britannica.com/45/101845-004-AB9DCB0D.jpg [Accessed 12 Feb. 2019]

Figure 2. Biography. (2014). Norman Foster. [online] At: https://www.biography.com/people/norman-foster-38151 [Accessed 12 Feb. 2019]

Figure 3. http://www.thatweb.co, T. (2018). The Eagle Comic | The Official Home of Dan Dare. [online] Dandare.com. At: http://www.dandare.com/eagle-comic.htm [Accessed 13 Feb. 2019

Figure 4. ITP.net. (2016). Masdar’s Personal Rapid Transit system reaches 99% efficiency – ITP.net. [online] At: http://www.itp.net/610528-masdars-personal-rapid-transit-system-reaches-99-efficiency [Accessed 12 Feb. 2019]

Figure 5. At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toward_an_Architecture [Accessed 12 Feb. 2019]

Figure 6. British Listed Buildings (2012). Daily Express Building, Ancoats and Clayton, Manchester. [online] Britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. At: https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101218285-daily-express-building-ancoats-and-clayton-ward/photos/63552#.XGMBZtLLfIU [Accessed 15 Feb. 2019]

Figure 7. Bing.com. (2019). Willis Faber Dumas insurance company’s offices in Ipswitch – Bing. [online] At: https://www.bing.com/search?q=Willis+Faber+Dumas+insurance+company%E2%80%99s+offices+in+Ipswitch&pc=MOZD&form=MOZLBR [Accessed 15 Feb. 2019]

Figure 8. Blogspot (2019). [online] At: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4W69rlnW2l0/UXnIrd2Qg4I/AAAAAAAAAXM/uVpae00yi6U/s1600/Seagram++(2).jpg [Accessed 26 Feb. 2019]

Figure 9. Scva.ac.uk. (2019). The Building / About. [online] Available at: https://scva.ac.uk/about/the-building [Accessed 12 Feb. 2019]

Figure 10. http://www.fosterandpartners.com, F. (2019). Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts | Foster + Partners. [online] Fosterandpartners.com. At: https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/sainsbury-centre-for-visual-arts/ [Accessed 15 Feb. 2019]

Figure 11. Scarrattandmartyn.files.wordpress.com. (2012). [online] At: https://scarrattandmartyn.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/sainsburystair.jpg [Accessed 15 Feb. 2019]

Figure 12. http://www.fosterandpartners.com, F. (2019). Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters | Foster + Partners. [online] Fosterandpartners.com. At: https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/hongkong-and-shanghai-bank-headquarters/ [Accessed 19 Feb. 2019]                                        

Figure 13, 14. ArchDaily. (2011). AD Classics: Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank / Foster + Partners. [online] At: https://www.archdaily.com/152495/ad-classics-hong-kong-and-shanghai- [Accessed 19 Feb. 2019]

Figure 15. Photos4travel.com. (2019). [online] At: http://www.photos4travel.com/sites/default/files/Commerzbank-Tower_Frankfurt.jpg [Accessed 19 Feb. 2019]

Figure 16, 17. Krimmel, C. (2019). Commerzbank AG – Buildings. [online] Commerzbank.de. At: https://www.commerzbank.de/en/hauptnavigation/presse/mediathek/bilddaten/buildings/buildings_1.html [Accessed 26 Feb. 2019]

Figure 18, 19, 20. http://www.fosterandpartners.com, F. (2019). Masdar City | Foster + Partners. [online] Fosterandpartners.com. At: https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/masdar-city/#gallery [Accessed 12 Feb. 2019]

Figure 21. Cdn.theculturetrip.com. (2019). [online] At: https://cdn.theculturetrip.com/images/56-3660365-the-gherkin-london.jpg [Accessed 19 Feb. 2019]

Figure 22. Images.adsttc.com. (2019). [online] At: https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5038/2679/28ba/0d59/9b00/1100/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414199980 [Accessed 19 Feb. 2019]

Figure 23. http://www.fosterandpartners.com, F. (2019). Great Court at the British Museum | Foster + Partners. [online] Fosterandpartners.com. At: https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/great-court-at-the-british-museum/ [Accessed 19 Feb. 2019]

Figure 24. http://www.fosterandpartners.com, F. (2019). Château Margaux | Foster + Partners. [online] Fosterandpartners.com. At: https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/chateau-margaux/#gallery [Accessed 21 Feb. 2019]

Figure 25. http://www.fosterandpartners.com, F. (2019). Tocumen International Airport | Foster + Partners. [online] Fosterandpartners.com. At: https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/tocumen-international-airport/#gallery [Accessed 21 Feb. 2019]

Figure 26. http://www.fosterandpartners.com, F. (2019). SEC Armadillo | Foster + Partners. [online] Fosterandpartners.com. At: https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/sec-armadillo/#gallery [Accessed 21 Feb. 2019]

Figure 27, 28, 29. http://www.fostersandpartners.com, F. (2019) | Reichstag Building [online] Fosterandpartners.com. At: https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects//reichstag-new-german-parliament//#gallery [Accessed 21 Feb. 2019]

Sources

ArchDaily. (2019). ArchDaily | Broadcasting Architecture Worldwide. [online] At: https://www.archdaily.com/ [Accessed 19 Feb. 2019]

Bfi.org. (2019). The Buckminster Fuller Institute. [online] At: https://www.bfi.org/ [Accessed 26 Feb. 2019]

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). Norman Foster | British architect. [online] At: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lord-Norman-Foster [Accessed 19 Feb. 2019]

Foster, N. (2000). Rebuilding the Reichstag. Woodstock, N.Y: Overlook Press.

MoMA. (2019). [online] At: https://www.moma.org [Accessed 21 Feb. 2019]

Sudjic, D. (2010). Norman Foster. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

Study.com. (2019). Norman Foster: Biography, Quotes & Philosophy | Study.com. [online] At: https://study.com/academy/lesson/norman-foster-biography-quotes-philosophy.html [Accessed 19 Feb. 2019]

http://www.fosterandpartners.com, F. (2019). Home | Foster + Partners. [online] Fosterandpartners.com. At: https://www.fosterandpartners.com/ [Accessed 19 Feb. 2019]

Exercise 1.1: Precedent Research: Preliminary

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The Reichstag Building – Images inside and Out

  • Circa 1894
  • 1945
  • Today

Maps showing The Reichstag Buildings location

Identifying what it’s function is/was

The Reichstag building houses the Bundestag – which is the national parliament of The Federal Republic of Germany

It was originally completed in 1894 built to house the Parliament of The German Empire. In 1933 a fire broke out soon after Hitler became chancellor and the establishment of a Nazi Dictatorship in Germany. The building obtained further damage during World War II and was then left to deteriorate further until it was restored, in part, in the 1970s to become a museum of German History. After the reunification of Germany in 1990 architects Norman Foster & Partners undertook further restoration and renovation of the building for it to once again house Germany’s Parliament.

Identify what might have driven the redesign of the space

Germany was split into East and West after the defeat of Hitler in 1945, the Western Allies; USA, Great Britain and France controlling the Democratic West and The USSR controlling the Communist East. After the decline of the USSR in 1989 East Germans were fleeing, crossing into West Germany through Hungary’s newly opened border with Austria. This saw the beginning of East Germans entering West Germany. Through a mistaken announcement on a broadcast news conference East Germans were given passage into West Germany through crossing points of the Berlin Wall, which in turn saw the downfall of the German Democratic Republic, leading to the rise of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In 1990 The CDU in a coalition with the Social Democrats initiated the negotiations for the unification of Germany. In June 1991 the Bundestag voted that Berlin should become the capital of Germany once again. Later that year it was voted that the Reichstag Building should be refurbished to house a united Parliament. In 1992 a competition was run to undertake this project, of which Norman Foster won in 1993.

Bibliography

Encyclopedia Britannica. (1995). Reichstag | building, Berlin, Germany. [online] At: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Reichstag-building-Berlin-Germany [Accessed 12 Feb. 2019].

Encyclopedia Britannica. (1995). Bundestag | German government. [online] At: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bundestag [Accessed 12 Feb. 2019].

Foster, N., Jenkins, D. and Baker, F. (2000) Rebuilding the Reichstag. London: Weinfeld & Nicholson.