Utopie Kulturforum

“The hall determines the design of the monumental building down to every detail. The exterior contour is also related to it – the tent tendency of the hall ceiling is clearly evident here. Likewise, the construction of the hall – which is arranged above the main foyers – resulted in the design of all the other rooms, in which the respective functions can freely unfold, as well as the play of the staircases, which is rhythmically integrated.”

Hans Scharoun

“Scharoun’s integration of the fine arts into the overall work is also of master builder greatness … These art objects are components of a grand and unified architectural concept. At a time when, instead of integration, the additive principle of placing an object of fine art with a building without closer ties has become the norm, Scharoun’s handling of this problem – although self-evident in earlier centuries – must today be seen as revolutionary.”

Hans-Joachim Arndt, architect and retired senate building councilor.

“On the staircases and corridors, one experiences firsthand, so to speak, what until then had to remain incomprehensible about this building: its organic coherence. But even now it is still a matter of exerting spatial imagination in the labyrinthine branch work of the foyer, which swings under the body of the hall.”

Ulrich Conrads