New places and paths
New places and paths
The public space at the Kulturforum will be redesigned according to the open space concept of the landscape planning office Valentien and Valentien.
Find out more about the current status here.
Scharounstraße becomes Scharounplatz
The new square Scharounplatz is built at the center of the Kulturforum in 2020. It forms the new common foyer of the adjacent cultural institutions. The main entrance of the newly planned "Museum of the 20th Century" will be on Scharounplatz, as well.
In addition, the large open space should be a place for joint events and performances or concerts.
The former rather wide street Scharounstraße, with parking spaces on both sides, was abandoned for the construction of the new square Scharounplatz. The entire area is now a traffic-calmed zone. On December 19, 2019, the newly built square was opened to the public with a press conference on site.
View from the Piazzetta onto Scharounplatz, September 2020
Photo: Philipp Eder
Forecourt at the Philharmonie entrance on Potsdamer Straße
The Philharmonie was built when the city was still divided into East and West Berlin. That is why the staff parking lot and the entrance for the musicians were planned on the "back" at that time - with the Berlin Wall in the immediate vicinity. The main entrance, however, is on the west side of the building.
With the reunification, access from the Potsdamer Platz side got a more important role. For that reaseon, there is now a second entrance for the concert guests. With the redesign of the public open spaces at the Kulturforum initiated by the State of Berlin, the first thing to do was to redesign this area. In 2015 the forecourt was finished and a beautiful and inviting entrance area was created: Instead of the previous parking spaces, there is now a large green area with lots of bicycle parking spaces as well as a paved area with plenty of seating and with green grass islands and trees.
Philharmonie entrance from Potsdamer Straße, September 2020
Photo: Philipp Eder
Park instead of parking lot, September 2020; Photo: Philipp Eder
New construction of Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße
In the course of the new planning, Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße was converted into a single-lane traffic-calmed zone in 2018. The pedestrian area was made wider and the green areas at the chamber music hall and the philharmonic hall were redesigned. The parking spaces along the street are reserved for people with reduced mobility.
Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße, September 2020
Photo: Philipp Eder