046

This building, for the place where it stands, should not give up a character of exceptionality. The relationship to the old castle is all contained in this character, well suited to a building intended for foreign relations. The heart of the new Berlin, intended for ministerial buildings, will have to enter the collective memory just as it was for the castle. This seems to us a possible homage to the old center. The project theme therefore became the construction of a building in analogy with the type of the castle. Not exactly that castle in Berlin, but the castle in general and with the elements that belong to the type: the plinths, towers, etc. This 60-meter-high building is constructed of iron and glass, has at its base two large marble-clad classrooms lit from above that contain all the collective activities of the Ministry and the conference center. On the Spreekanal a dock allows boats to dock. On the Spree six small 12-meter-high brick buildings for recreational activities build the riverfront in a scale that enhances the size of the Foreign Ministry. The surrounding fabric is carefully reconstructed in the old shapes and sizes; the blocks on the street will be rebuilt with large courtyards as in Nehering’s plan. The castle square is restored to its former dimensions. On the Spreekanal side it is enclosed by a building intended for cultural activities, built of brick, in close relation to the Bauakademie, whose reconstruction is proposed.