Berlin - Culture Forum

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the massive building intended for the Museum of Applied Art in 1978-85 and the new Hall of Chamber Music opposite the Philharmonic Hall to the west and adjoining the latter on the south side ("Little Philharmonic Hall", 1984-87).

The western side of the Culture Forum was scheduled to be completed in summer 1993 by means of a multiple group of buildings to house four museum departments of European art belonging to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (its main administrative offices being in the von der Heydt Villa on the western side), namely the Art Gallery, Sculpture Gallery, Print and Engraving Cabinet and Library.

It was decided to adopt the plans put forward by the Austrian architect Hans Hollein for the design of the actual Forum in the center of the buildings described above. Northeast of the St Matthäus Church (a brick building in the Italo-Romanesque style built in 1846 and restored in 1960; modern interior) it is proposed to erect an arched colonnade ("loggia") along Potsdamer Strasse and westwards, terminating in a "piazza" divided into a paved area and a shrubbery. There will also be a pavilion containing a restaurant, with fountains playing where the square adjoins the museum buildings. The political changes have also led to new guidelines being laid down for future urban planning in the center of Berlin. Under the latest plans, any future development of the Forum will have to be in sympathy with the layout of Potsdamer Platz. It is not anticipated that it will extend beyond the present boundaries, but there should be a linking of the "green belt" areas between the Anhalter Bahnhof and the Tiergarten. Accordingly as the point of entry to the Tiergarten, Kemperplatz will be re-laid.