during the worldcup period, if you couldn't book a ticket to enter the stadium and watch the match live, or that you didn't want to stay in the hotel to watch the tiny television, the best place to be, if you were in Berlin, was the Postdamer Platz.
you paid for an entry fee so that you could get a seat at the atrium where the huge television screen was. the price included food and drinks and were not overpriced, something we appreciated a lot. Germany was serious and focus in the events they organized, and they seldom use it as a marketing tool to extract money from visiting tourist.
the place was in fact a cluster of office buildings and entertainment venues, masterplanned by Hilmer, Sattler & Albrecht, the buildings themselves were the works of a number of different architects including names like Renzo Piano, Helmut Jahn, Richard Rogers, Arata Isozaki...etc.
the roof feature added the sense of volume in this space and was lit up with floodlights of various colours, a night marvel in itself.
perhaps one of the most controversial race on earth, the Jewish population has endured some of the most frightening experience during the WW2.
one can read books, watch movies, or even visit historical sites related to the holocaust, but how close could one imagine or even attempting to understand the fear, hopelessness, despair that the Jewish people experienced?
went into the Memorial to the Murdered Jews around 3pm on a sunny weekday, at the height of the WorldCup fever, yet, once you entered the orthogonal laybirith, with the floor undulating in unexpected ways, and the concrete columns suddenly towering over you at the heart of the installation, the chill that sent thru your spine, so many people around you yet you can not see them, hearing voices muttering but not knowing their whereabout, one was suddenly catpulted back to a dimension where there was no hope, and the future was bleak...
other than a piece of work by Tadao Ando in Himeji i visited years ago that gave me such a strong impact, this installation has hit home a sensation that can not be described in words...i was speechless, and felt that i was among the Jews, waiting to be escorted to the path of utter darkness...
this is the power of architecture.
maybe due to the kind of media exposed to, or never have been to one of the built works, or indifference to his architectural philosophy in relation to the complexity theory, never particularly liked Peter Eisenman's works.
after visiting the memorial of murdered jews in Berlin, however, have somehow changed my attitude towards his work.
there's a certain delicate treatment to the seemingly unimaginative rows of upright concrete slab. from a distance, it was overwheming due to its sheer size, and monumental solemness. but it's only when you enter this concrete maze, then you realize it's more than what one could anticipate...
there was a whole lot of architecture to be seen close to the Brandengurger Tor, and any attempt to see all in one day would simply spoil the marvels. it was a hot day, and we were dying for a drink, walked past this building, not knowing what it was, but could see a bookshop, a bar and some funny looking installation through the curtain wall on the front. unlike some of the buildings nearby (as it was already 5 in the afternoon), the doors were unlocked, we entered, and found out this was actually the akademie der kunste. not that we didn't know it exist before hand, but our main objective after visting the Brandengurger Tor was actually the Memorial to the Murdererd Jews. so discovering the akademie was a pleasant surprise.
there was an exhibition going on with large scale installations, some rather interesting works. but it was this staircase which caught my attention most...
of this building, everything seems to be very architectural of the contemporary era, steel staircase, angled glass, white walls, self-leveled flooring, slanted furniture...and suddenly, saw a staircase which was totally unsimilar to any of its surroundings, something from another moment in history...made me wonder was this all that remains from its previous incarnation, or was it a replica of somewhere inserted into this space?
took the steps, heard sound from above, anticipating an encounter of of an unusal kind...
what once stood in East Germany and overlooking the many events happened before the removal of the Berlin Wall, this Neo-classical structure, modelled after the Athenian Propylaea, with Victoria, the goddess of victory, driving the Quadriga.
located at the end of Unter den Linden.
there was a very useful tourist information centre just by the side of the gate which has ample information on architecture, but watch out for the date when it is closed!
the massive mirror fixture, apart from giving some very nice reflections through its tilted angle fixings and becoming the central focus of the enclosure, serves another purpose of bringing in the natural day light through to the assembly hall below.
the glazed roof of the hall, which is transparent for the public to look into, perhaps symbolize the transparency of the government...but while you can see inside, you can't really hear what's going on inside, a bit ironic...
while expecting the details to be hinged of joints, and allow the fixings to a certain degree of movement, was surprised to see most are welded joints...
designed by Foster and Partners of United Kingdom, this piece of architecture easily top the list of must visit site in Berlin. it's free of charge to get in, but due to all the security check, expect to queue outside for a bit before you are eventually admitted into the premises.
once inside, the elevator will take you to the roof of where the iconic copola is. there is plenty of information regarding the background of this project listed in the architect's homepage.
the day when we visited was at the height of summer, and this glass structure was in fact not air-conditioned but relying on stack effect and natural ventilation through the openings on the screen. was it effective? of course not as comfortable as a fully air-conditioned building, but comparing to the heat on the street, this was not so bad.
2 parallel running ramps encircle the inside skin of this architecture and can take you all the way to the top, which is opened to the sky, uncovered! quite a surprise.
this place deserves another entry to talk about.
while the taxi in Berlin is of reasonable rate, and the S-bahn and U-bahn are both efficiently run, it is expected of the general public that plenty of travelling are to be done on foot, and it often has signs saying 400m to Point A, 300m to Point B...etc. which is good for urban dwellers who are so lack of moderate exercise anyway.
on the way to the Reichstag, there's a route which took one along side the river Spree. Clean, institutional architecture set the backdrop for the walk.
we had some difficulty in identifying this project as not many books or literature covered it. apparently it housed the library and reference section for the Chancellery nearby.
architect for the project is Stephan Braunfels.
one of the landmark in Berlin, the Fernsehturm in the Mitte area.
my first thought was that any spy movies must have a go at this TV Tower especially in the 70s, as it does give a certain aura of that time. The mainbody has the look of a football, most probably 3M stickers being put on for the 2006 WorldCup.
incidentally, the TV tower was built between 1965 to 1969 by the GDR (German Democratic Republic), or better known as, East Germany.
and that certainly gives you another motive to visit it.
this picture was taken when we just got off the S-Bahn Friedrichstr station on our way to Reichstag.
the journey lasted for about an hour.
once out of the station, either side of the train opened up to a vast field of greens. occasionally came in to view were the wind turbines.
as common to the very essence of daily life, Germany is meticulously conscious on the energy efficiency and green issues: escalators come into life only when a person approaches; lights dimmed down or switched off when no one is in the corridor, actuated most probably by motion sensor and dimmable energy efficient T-5 fluorescent tubes; parking meters are operating on solar energy. the people as well as the country are well aware of energy saving issues and utilizing alternative energy other than fossil fuels.
in contrast, while claiming as World City, Hong Kong is quite backward in energy concerned issues, just how many buildings were designed to tackle the punishing heat of the summer sun other than using an even more powerful air conditioner to cool down the air? the excessive light shows, which are burning the valuable fuels everynight, to signal that the city is prosperous, advanced, that we bring light to darkness, water to the desert, what cost there is to the environment?
China is catching up in an extremely fast pace in terms of car ownership, and is in the process in striking a new deal with the Venezuelan government on the supply of petroleum...
are we heading the right directions?
the weather changes according to different seasons, mirco climates, radiation of the Sun, reaction forces between planets, or as far fetched to the vibration of a pair of butterfly wings.
can it be accurately predicted, presumably yes in theory, if you have a way to store in all the data that is happening in the universe, from Time-Zero to the moment you want to know the result. But if we accept that the universe is infinitely large, then things happened at all corners (or will there actually be corners?) of the universe needs to be recorded on a machine that has infinite capacity...
"tempermental as weather", that's how we describe the mood of a person which is unpredictable.
the question is, is a person's mood really unpredictable?
many years ago, saw a documentary by QED of England, citing a person was charged with murder, but defense claimed that the man on trial was subjected to a chemical spillage, and the chemicals he inhaled affected his brain, therefore, his decisions and subsequent actions. guilty or not was a legal issue, but suppose we understand the effect of such chemicals and how it will affect a person's mind, can we then, theoretically, predict the mood of a person if we understand all circumstances, actions affecting that person before he/ she swings into a certain mood?
why am i writing this?
affected by the picture in front of me.
why was there someone still working at the height of the WorldCup fever?
thousands of possibilities were already crawling towards the window...one of final pictures we took the night before we leave Leipzig the next day.
once again, the universal rule of duality that exists. if you have not experienced the fury of the storm, how could you appreciate the calmness that comes after? if there is no darkness, how could there be light?
for knowing the sweet taste of victory, one must have fallen in countless battles before...
Nature operates the antagonistic yet symbiotic duality like clockwork, so how could we expect our life could escape from this universal rule?if you are not prepared to get hurt, how could you ever gained the experience you need and search for that Holy Grail in your life?
slightly off topic, but am just annoyed by individuals who moaned all day in their armchairs, complaining that their talents were not recognized, or that opportunities never knocked on their doors, when in fact, they ought to get up, fist tightened, and go out to battle in the storm...
no wonder Germany is filled with so many fairy tales...
the skyline was transformed within minutes, storm gathering from the east, spreading like wildfire through the forest, and turned the sky into pitch black in the blink of an eye...
for individuals who are used to life in the cities, especially Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, New York...etc, the city high rise did not strike too much of an impression. however, located at the top of the building is the Panorama Restaurant serving quality fine dining and literally provides a panoramic view of the city. and it is exactly because there is a lack of highrise nearby, the expansive views at the top was simply breathtaking.
quite ironic...
we witnessed the dramatic changes of weather like those described in a fairy tale. will talk about it in the next post.
a new piece of construction, claimed to be "...Leipzig's most architecturally modern passage..." according to the City Guide.
while Petersbogen was indeed quite different from its surroundings, its architecture was not unfamiliar, lined with shops on either side, the walk was less captivating than the Madler Passage UNTIL one reached the end with the Neues Rathus suddenly towering in front.
it felt as if we were inside a time travelling machine, arrived at a time of ancient romance, ready for an adventure once stepped outside...
located along in an unconspicuos spot the Grimmaische Strabe just off the Markt lies the fully covered shopping arcade, most likely built pre-war, but just how long ago? need to find some more info on this.
the interesting bar Mephisto and restaurant Auerbach’s Keller are both worth visiting.
legend also has it that touching the foot of Faust's statue at the entrance of the passage can bring good luck...but at what cost? like that in the legend of Faust and Mephistopheles?
maps folded in hand, we were exploring the area in an unplanned sequence. venturing into areas which attracted our attention. in contrary to city like Berlin, Leipzig has retained almost in a complete package buildings of similar era. if it were not the presence of the amount of tourists on the streets, one could have catapulted back to a time centuries ago.
...
could hear faint music resulted from the tender hands on a seasoned piano. i looked up, could not find where exactly the music was from, but it appeared that it must have been the top floors as while all windows were shut, there was one which was slightly opened, as if to let the music to escape from the dark interior.
there was no more noise on the pavement, not a single soul to be seen, all was quiet, not even the clouds were moving, the scene was frozen in that instant.
the melancholy melody continued to flow through the air.
i hesitated and wondered if i was meant to venture to the heart of where the music was and greet this mysterious figure in the dark...
huge museum for arts, and an intricately designed building facade.
but mark these words even if you never thought you need to know the German language:
Montag geschlossen.
meaning, Monday closed.
well, that provided us with another reason to return to Leipzig in the future.
quite a piece of stunning architecture. this stadium was integrated into the former stadium, and to reach it, one must travel across a vast piece of greens, climb the steps over the hill, and then, there it was, like a piece of alien spaceship landed on a crater.
