Berlin's former congress hall, today the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures), is an exemplary architectural product of the ideologies of post-war modernity. It was originally built in 1957 by American architect Hugh Stubbins as a gift from the USA to West Berlin as part of the INTERBAU. An upcoming month-long exhibition and event series at the building focuses on the Haus itself. Curated by Valerie Smith, Between Walls and Windows explores the history of the former congress hall in order to re-frame its highly symbolic form and function in today’s context. The building will be reinterpreted through artistic and architectural interventions that will transform its interior and exterior surfaces, shedding light on the questions architecture poses when it is an instrument or icon of power.
The exhibition includes new works by: Studio Miessen, Supersudaca, Architecture Studio (Wang Shu & Lu Wenyu), Arno Brandlhuber, Ângela Ferreira, Terence Gower, Initiative Weltkulturerbe Doppeltes Berlin, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Marko Sančanin (Platforma 9,81), Eran Schaerf
Between Walls and Windows
Exhibition, Forum, Catalog
9-30 September, 2012
Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin
