Berlin, ready to reopen Mies van der Rohe's iconic Neue Nationalgalerie

It has been closed since 2014 but, after several years of work, it can finally reopen to the public the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, the iconic building designed by the great architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (Aachen, 1886 - Chicago, 1969) and opened in 1968 (the design dates back to 1962 instead). The building was renovated behind plans by architect David Chipperfield (London, 1953), who faithfully adhered to Mies van der Rohe’s building values without altering the aesthetics. Yesterday, a closed-door opening of the new building was held in the presence of Culture Minister Monika Grütters: it is scheduled to open to the public on August 22, with an exhibition dedicated to Alexander Calder.

The Berlin of culture, then, sees a further transformation of its face: after the reopening of the Staatsbibliothek following renovation and after the opening last December of the new Humboldt Forum, another important institution is preparing to welcome Berliners and visitors arriving from all over the world. The Neue Nationalgalerie, in particular, has been completely renovated: 1,600 square meters of new glass was installed in the large upper exhibition hall alone. The purpose of the intervention was to improve the building’s energy efficiency as well as its safety conditions and fire response capacity. In addition, after fifty years of uninterrupted opening, several components of the building needed to be refurbished. Cost of the work: 140 million euros.

The museum is preparing to once again receive its works, which had been temporarily moved to allow for the work: ranging from works by the masters of the avant-garde (such as Picasso, Gris, Ernst, and Dalí) to the great Bauhaus amateurs, not forgetting the artists who taught at the school (such as Klee and Kandinsky) and the great German artists of the early 20th century, such as Kirchner, Heckel, Schmidt-Rottluff, and others, to contemporary artists. In addition, it is the building itself that is valuable: it is in fact the only structure designed by Mies van der Rohe in Germany after World War II.

Pictured: the renovated Neue Nationalgalerie. Photo by BBR / Marcus Ebener

Berlin, ready to reopen Mies van der Rohe's iconic Neue Nationalgalerie

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