Architecture in Berlin. A Walk through History

About

This course provides an overview of the development of public and private architecture in Berlin during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Following an introduction to the urban development and architectural history of the Modern era, the Neo-Classical period will be surveyed with special reference to the works of Schinkel. This will be followed by classes on architecture of the German Reich after 1871, which was characterized by both modern and conservative tendencies and the manifold activities during the time of the Weimar Republic in the 1920s such as Modernist avantgarde and the Housing Revolution. The architecture of the Nazi period will be examined, followed by the developments in the divided city in East and West Berlin after the Second World War. The course concludes with a detailed review of the city’s more recent and current architectural profiles, including a critical analysis of the conflicts concerning the re-design of Berlin after the Cold War and the German reunification and contemporary planning issues.

Seven walking tours to historically significant buildings and sites are included (Unter den Linden, Gendarmenmarkt, New Housing Estates, Chancellory, Potsdamer Platz, Holocaust Memorial etc.). The course aims to offer a deeper understanding of the interdependence of Berlin’s architecture and the city’s social, economic and political structures. It considers Berlin as a model for the highways and by-ways of a European capital in modern times.

Course leader

Dr. Gernot Weckherlin

Target group

The course addresses students of any subject, especially History of Art, Architecture and related subjects, such as History, Design or Fine Arts. An elementary knowledge of architecture and architectural history is welcome but not necessary. More advanced students or those interested in a particular field can - on request - be given special assistance and further material for self-study.

Fee info