ilija bentscheff

Ilija Bentscheff, 2010
Adviser: Prof. B. Tonon, Prof. B. Hoidn, UdK Berlin, UT Austin- Design Studio

THE SITE

The Marx- Engels Forum is a site of historical importance to the city of Berlin. The site traces the historic development from the beginning of the twin cities Berlin until today articulated in urban artifacts in their historical and political coherence. The site is surrounded by the Humboldt Forum, the Rote Rathaus (Berlin’s City hall), the Dome, the rebuilt Berliner Schloss, the Nicolei Viertel and the TV towers, as well as the only remaining building on the site; the Marienkirche on the northern perimeter.

Almost entirely destroyed by the Second World War, the site was cleared or restructured by the GDR government. It has been changed to as ideal representation of a public space as an embodiment of the socialist society; a place of celebration of the victory and power of socialism. The Rathaus, the Nicoleikirche, the magnificent TV Tower and the Palast der Republik framed the enormous site in and as the new center of the capital of the GDR. The adjacent apartment and office complexes on the north and south of the site completed the ensemble in scale as well as in their formal appearance and programmatic arrangement.

After the re-unification of Germany the Palast der Republik was destructed and the site or the representational function of the site lost or rather changed its meaning. This was the starting point of a new discussion of the meaning and form of a center of a modern democratic space, society and most importantly; its identity.

CONCEPT

This condition is the background of the reconsideration of the meaning and spatial articulation of this significant site. Demonstrations in a democratic society were always taken to the streets while totalitarian regimes orchestrated parades on therefore made spaces; an image of power, obeisance and unity.
This consideration is the reason the reintroduce density in form of built substance. The proposal reoccupies the site with an urban center. Recognizing and maintaining the historical artifacts; the proposal is defining a clear hierarchy. The site is divided into two major zones; an east and west zone. The eastern zone is framed by the Bahnhof Alexanderplatz, the high rise buildings on the north perimeter at Karl-Liebknecht Strasse, Spandauer Strasse on the west and the Rathausstrasse with the Rotes Rathhaus and the high rise building on the south. The western zone is framed by the rebuilt Berliner Schloss on the west, the Nicoleiviertel on the south, Spandauer Strasse on the east and the Dom-Aquaree on the north.

THE PROPOSAL

The two zones are differentiated in their built structure forming two urban and atmospheric conditions.
The eastern zone in directed towards an east-west orientation, informed by the framing buildings on the north and south perimeter and the field between the TV Tower and the Berliner Stadtschloss. This structure forms an in-set frame of a narrowed Boulevard in the center of the eastern zone. The inset frame is reintroducing an atmospheric derivation of the pre-war condition in terms of its density and materiality by mediating between the scale of the newer buildings on the north and south boundary of the site. This transition is taking place in the scale of the block, the scale of the lots and the scale of the new buildings. A typological study for the formal syntactic process of the development a structure, blocks and buildings directed the project through the study of precedences. The pre-war blocks consisted of a closed street front and several courtyards which often contained manufacturing workshops and lower class housing. This condition has also changed over time. There is no necessity anymore to structure the block to an enclosed network of substructures and layers of privacy.
The new block is rather like the typical Midtown Manhattan block; four street fronts and one courtyard. The position of the Nicoleikirche and the few remaining artifacts and the one courtyard depth of the new block give the initial division of the site to develop the building plan. Each block is essentially built by two larger and representative town houses, which are mixed use buildings; office, retail on the first floor and housing. The north and the south rows are essentially symmetric towards the central Boulevard. The south row has an absent block in front of the city hall, giving the place an according significance in program and formal appearance. The façade on the opposite side of the city hall is tracing the extension of the south façade of the Stadtschloss and brings it in front of the city hall; a presence of the monarchic history and the democratic presence. The opposite block contains municipal functions and a new museum.

The western zone is in its essential structure completing the figuration of the block structure along the river and is mainly informed by the historical footprint of the pre-war structure. The blocks are subdivided into smaller lots and therefore consist of smaller townhouses of the size of the historic buildings. The extension of the Boulevard of the eastern zone is narrowing down to a typical street.

The museum on the south row of the eastern zone is the new cultural epicenter of the site. This venue is a new private contemporary art museum, providing new space for the Flick Collection. The conceptual figuration is an assemblage of twenty two, in a three by three cubes array in three layers, stacked galleries. The absent volumes are opening the building to the surrounding. This porosity offers the infiltration with natural light and a contextualization of view from the inside of the building.


Ilija Bentscheff

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	a Visitors Center to the U.N.
	Marx Engels Forum
	Highrise Manchester
	Aquatic Centre
	Giardini Project
	Exhibition
	House in the Landscape
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	Altered Chicago
	Rule Based Design


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		Ilija Bentscheff, 2010 Adviser: Prof. B. Tonon, Prof. B. Hoidn, UdK Berlin, UT Austin- Design Studio THE SITE The Marx- Engels Forum is a site of historical importance to the city of Berlin. The site traces the historic development from the beginning of the twin cities Berlin until today articulated in urban artifacts in their historical and political coherence. The site is surrounded by the Humboldt Forum, the Rote Rathaus (Berlin’s City hall), the Dome, the rebuilt Berliner Schloss, the Nicolei Viertel and the TV towers, as well as the only remaining building on the site; the Marienkirche on the northern perimeter. Almost entirely destroyed by the Second World War, the site was cleared or restructured by the GDR government. It has been changed to as ideal representation of a public space as an embodiment of the socialist society; a place of celebration of the victory and power of socialism. The Rathaus, the Nicoleikirche, the magnificent TV Tower and the Palast der Republik framed the enormous site in and as the new center of the capital of the GDR. The adjacent apartment and office complexes on the north and south of the site completed the ensemble in scale as well as in their formal appearance and programmatic arrangement. After the re-unification of Germany the Palast der Republik was destructed and the site or the representational function of the site lost or rather changed its meaning. This was the starting point of a new discussion of the meaning and form of a center of a modern democratic space, society and most importantly; its identity. CONCEPT This condition is the background of the reconsideration of the meaning and spatial articulation of this significant site. Demonstrations in a democratic society were always taken to the streets while totalitarian regimes orchestrated parades on therefore made spaces; an image of power, obeisance and unity. This consideration is the reason the reintroduce density in form of built substance. The proposal reoccupies the site with an urban center. Recognizing and maintaining the historical artifacts; the proposal is defining a clear hierarchy. The site is divided into two major zones; an east and west zone. The eastern zone is framed by the Bahnhof Alexanderplatz, the high rise buildings on the north perimeter at Karl-Liebknecht Strasse, Spandauer Strasse on the west and the Rathausstrasse with the Rotes Rathhaus and the high rise building on the south. The western zone is framed by the rebuilt Berliner Schloss on the west, the Nicoleiviertel on the south, Spandauer Strasse on the east and the Dom-Aquaree on the north. THE PROPOSAL The two zones are differentiated in their built structure forming two urban and atmospheric conditions. The eastern zone in directed towards an east-west orientation, informed by the framing buildings on the north and south perimeter and the field between the TV Tower and the Berliner Stadtschloss. This structure forms an in-set frame of a narrowed Boulevard in the center of the eastern zone. The inset frame is reintroducing an atmospheric derivation of the pre-war condition in terms of its density and materiality by mediating between the scale of the newer buildings on the north and south boundary of the site. This transition is taking place in the scale of the block, the scale of the lots and the scale of the new buildings. A typological study for the formal syntactic process of the development a structure, blocks and buildings directed the project through the study of precedences. The pre-war blocks consisted of a closed street front and several courtyards which often contained manufacturing workshops and lower class housing. This condition has also changed over time. There is no necessity anymore to structure the block to an enclosed network of substructures and layers of privacy. The new block is rather like the typical Midtown Manhattan block; four street fronts and one courtyard. The position of the Nicoleikirche and the few remaining artifacts and the one courtyard depth of the new block give the initial division of the site to develop the building plan. Each block is essentially built by two larger and representative town houses, which are mixed use buildings; office, retail on the first floor and housing. The north and the south rows are essentially symmetric towards the central Boulevard. The south row has an absent block in front of the city hall, giving the place an according significance in program and formal appearance. The façade on the opposite side of the city hall is tracing the extension of the south façade of the Stadtschloss and brings it in front of the city hall; a presence of the monarchic history and the democratic presence. The opposite block contains municipal functions and a new museum. The western zone is in its essential structure completing the figuration of the block structure along the river and is mainly informed by the historical footprint of the pre-war structure. The blocks are subdivided into smaller lots and therefore consist of smaller townhouses of the size of the historic buildings. The extension of the Boulevard of the eastern zone is narrowing down to a typical street. The museum on the south row of the eastern zone is the new cultural epicenter of the site. This venue is a new private contemporary art museum, providing new space for the Flick Collection. The conceptual figuration is an assemblage of twenty two, in a three by three cubes array in three layers, stacked galleries. The absent volumes are opening the building to the surrounding. This porosity offers the infiltration with natural light and a contextualization of view from the inside of the building.