Herzog & de Meuron are building “berlin modern” at the Kulturforum
Berlin’s most interesting construction site is located at the Kulturforum between the Neue Nationalgalerie and the Berlin Philharmonie. In the next few years the Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts (Museum of the 20th century) will be built here. After a two-part process to arrive at the winning design the jury awarded in late October 2016 the first prize to the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron.
In the new museum building as well as in the Neue Nationalgalerie the Nationalgalerie’s collections of 20th century art will be exhibited. Together with the Nationalgalerie’s collection the collection of Ulla and Heiner Pietzsch will be shown in the Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts. The collection of Erich Marx, the Kupferstichkabinett and the Kunstbibliothek will display their collections on special exhibition areas in the new museum building.
Starting in February 2018, the architects worked closely with the National Gallery and the Staatliche Museen Berlin, as future users, and the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation), as the building owner, to develop the detailed design. The Baden-Württemberg Federal Building Authority oversaw the planning process.
The design planning was completed in summer 2019. Since then, the plans have been further developed to make the building more socially and environmentally sustainable and more accessible to all. After the ground-breaking ceremony in December 2019, the foundation stone was laid on February 9, 2024—a significant milestone for the project. The ceremony was attended by Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth, Governing Mayor of Berlin Kai Wegner, and representatives of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz and the Staatliche Museen Berlin, among others. The laying of the foundation stone marked the visible start of the construction phase and highlighted the building's role as an open and connecting element in the Kulturforum.
