Berlin Tomorrow Vittoria Magnago Lampugnani
Berlin Tomorrow documents a variety of ideas for the heart of the city of Berlin - one the of most significant cities in the world, historically, politically and architecturally. These innovative schemes by international architects were recently exhibited at the German Architecture Museum in Frankfurt and are presented and discussed here by museum director Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani who is guest editor of this issue. The 17 architects contributing their visions for the city include Aldo Rossi, John Hejduk, Jean Nouvel, Vittorio Gregotti, Bernard Tschumi, Om Ungers, Coop Himmelblau and Zaha Hadid. Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani, Volker Fischer and Anna Meseure, and Michael Monninger provide the historical and architectural background and the details of the exhibition's conception. As Lampugnani writes, The concern is not initially to measure the proposals by what is and what is not possible in Berlin today, nor is it to draw up a quality list and choose the best. We can only see these 17 works as a contribution to the urban development of Berlin; they may be heterogeneous, occasionally even contradictory, but they are absolutely coherent.