Blown Away. The Palace of the Republic

Background

The exhibition “Blown Away: The Palace of the Republic” at the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace, which was designed and realised by gewerkdesign, is based on an approach of many perspectives. It is not a one-dimensional narration but it holds space for different positions and enables the visitors to change the physical standpoint as well as the mental perspective. The museum that is standing on the ground of the former Palace of the Republic offers a space for the memory of, the reflection on and the discussion of this iconic building. By way of the exhibition title, the museum aims at conveying that although the GDR representational building may de facto not exist anymore, it is ever more present in the minds of the people and talk of the town. In the program accompanying the exhibition and in various formats, the museum offers opportunities for effective dialogue and for the education of those for whom the topic is new. 

The design makes use of the critical potential of the exhibition and transforms it into a spatial kaleidoscope. We have designed an open scenography that is not intended to function like a backdrop but rather like a participative whole with many special solutions. The components are modular like in a traveling exhibition and have a temporary character. The image of the Palace of the Republic constantly shifts: Objects become visible in varying constellations that are modified according to position changes. In this, the many perspectives of the topic as well as the layered subjectivity of memories is expressed. 

The exhibition expands across two rooms: the Open Space and the Basis Narration with the Memory Room.

The Open Space is simultaneously the prologue and the epilogue of the exhibition. The design of this room is, beyond some free-standing objects and a media installation, totally focused on the walls and the floor. A large floor graphic shows a reduced city map of Berlin’s centre, on which the ground plots of the Berlin Palace and the Palace of the Republic are both indicated on top of one another. The media installation is set up in a square layout on four stelas with four small screens each, on which an artistic video blends original film material from the GDR Palace’s era with digitally created motion design.

On large wall surfaces, the Open Space is decked out with copper-coloured, foil-coated coverings that are reminiscent of the glass facade of the Palace of the Republic. Prompted by the question “What should be remembered?”, visitors are invited to express their opinions, write down a contribution to the discussion or simply tag their names on the surface with white markers.

The Basis Narration is the main space of the exhibition. It is not structured in a didactic and linear way, but instead, the visitors can decide freely what to view in which order. Several themed areas are distributed across the space. The titles of the themed areas are concurrently open completions of the fragment above the entry doors in the foyer: “The Palace of the Republic is…”. Oppositional word pairs hang above the themed areas: for example “preserved or lost”, “for the state or for the people”, “magnificent or functional”. Also, large question marks hover above the themed areas to hint at the fact that many questions are still unanswered.  

In the middle of the room, also a central element of the design concept, is the so-called Memory Room. Slightly elevated over the surrounding space, it is visually shielded and acoustically dimmed by a curtain hanging from the ceiling that is open at the bottom. Light, cozy and protected, it is a podium for the personal thoughts expressed in audio interviews by contemporary witnesses and for the listeners, it is a calm place to internalise and to discuss. 

On their way from the exterior to the interior of the building, visitors traverse the traced contour of the Palace of the Republic’s ground plot and thereby get an impression of its former location in relation to the Berlin Palace. 

Tasks / Range of Services
Exhibition design, planning and implementation, exhibition production, concept development for the display, project management, exhibition graphics, film concept and realisation at the Open Space