Blown Away. The Palace of the Republic

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 the iconic building. 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.

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. Upon entering the exhibition, visitors encounter a large floor graphic showing 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. In a media installation on four stelas with four small screens each, an artistic video blends original film material from the Palace’s era with digitally created motion design.

The main space of the exhibition 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 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. In the middle of the room 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 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.