Wednesday, January 21
It has been decided that the reconstruction of the Schinkelsche Bauakademie, set to be rebuilt on the Friedrichswerder in Mitte, will include the characteristic red-brick façade that made the building a pioneering example of red-brick proto-modernism.
The federal government and the Federal Foundation Bauakademie agreed on this choice, and they decided that the red brick will be implemented into the competition outlines for its design. This is an important step forward seeing as the competition has been postpone numerous times due to the two parties’ inability to agree on an outline.
Nine years ago, the Bundestag decided to re-establish the 1836 building designed by famous Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. In 2016, the federal government gave 62 million euros to this project and six years ago, they founded the Federal Foundation for Construction Academy. But since then, nothing has happened.
Senator for Construction Christian Gaebler (SDP) has made it clear that “we do not insist on a one-to-one reconstruction” of the historic building and that accessibility and modern needs will be considered in the design. However, a proposal for a modern design has been rejected.
The inclusion of the iconic red-brick façade shows aligns with Gaebler’s statement that “the external impact of the Schinkelsche Bauakademie is to be restored.”
