Beneath the Surface

By: Emma Lyne Pouch

Today, Berlin is known as the central figure in the new modern identity of European architecture. The city has experienced a transformation from the Nazi architecture of the 1930s to a hyper modernist style shown by Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish Museum. The pivotal point in this new movement towards modernism was Mies van der Rohe’s design for the modern art gallery in Berlin known as the Neue Nationalgalerie. With this project he discovered an element of architecture that would be an inspiration for other architects and their future designs in Berlin.

            The Neue Nationalgalerie’s most recognizable aesthetic conception is the steel grid roof with the glass box below. This look is powerful and expressive yet the pure geometry and transparent space leaves you with a tranquil feel. The smooth floors and open plan create space beyond boundaries as the light reflects off the polished floors. This statement in the design is what we associate with the building yet this level doesn’t even serve the main function of an art gallery. The art is all stored below ground with only a few pieces rotating on display in this glass space to give an indication of what is below and prepares the viewer for the experience. We are forced to go deeper to discover the substance of the place. What Mies van der Rohe didn’t know as the time was that is idea of going deeper would be carried into the more modern future of Berlin’s architecture.

Daniel Libeskind is the first example of using the idea of going beneath the surface in the Jewish Museum. The entire project is filled with symbolism and well thought out representation to create different suggestions and experiences for the people. From the outside we see an 18th century courthouse next to Libeskind’s modern design with no visible connection from the surface. Thus, a visitor must enter through the old courthouse and experience the underground entrance to the new building as a way to emotionally pull them into and prepare them for the experience, just the opposite of Mies van der Rohe’s art gallery going from above to below. In both scenarios we find that this change in levels can affect the experience of the visitor. If we look into these projects further we see they also use the light to enhance this change. At the Neue Nationalgalerie a visitor would go from a space letting in all light to a reserved, closed off space with soft overhead lighting. At the Jewish Museum, Libeskind carefully considered the shapes and spaces through which the light comes through as it leads the eye to voids that are not accessible. This gives the sense of the heavy history of the missing Jews and the personal stories of the people. At the end of the journey the visitor will once again be outside in natural light as a contrast to the restricted areas within the building.

In relation to these pieces of architecture in Berlin is the Holocaust Memorial designed by Peter Eisenman. He uses 2,700 concrete block structures all at different levels to fabricate an uncomfortable feel that is only further intensified by the way the light shines through the rows of blocks. An interesting element of this monument is that most of the blocks are below street level and then even beneath them is the “place of information” which resembles a small museum to list the names of those who died.

It’s this reoccurring element of going below that I find most intriguing. I often associate a great building by its height, showing power and making it stand out but these important structures head us in a different direction. They bring about this sense of emotion, a heaviness that makes you stop and think and take in your surroundings on a deeper level that you hadn’t originally prepared for. The architects’ use of light in these particular situations enriches the experience and leaves you with a lasting impression. That is what we should aim for in our own designs. Not something that gives a false sense of power from it’s substantial height but a piece that makes you go deeper, maybe not literally but figuratively. Make the visitors stop and think and remember the space. That is a successful building.