Freiheits- und Einheitsdenkmal / Berlin

In search for a monument commemorating the 20th anniversary of the crumbling of the Berlin Wall and the German reunification the German parliament launched an international competition. Located at the center of the city the monument was to educate and commemorate at the same time. This entry was recommended for continuation albeit the competition got cancelled for political reasons.

Freiheits- und Einheitsdenkmal / Berlin differs from traditional monuments as it avoids metaphorical statements. It also critiques a younger phenomenon in monument design that seeks intellectual asylum in formal abstraction and fields. Instead, Berlin Einheits Denkmal aims to integrate its historical (and monumental) environment by registering vectors transcending imaginary historical strata in a highly dense urban setting. These vectors form a vortex of lines, a dynamic node in space and point to reveal historical connections. The monument is intended to be used and explored by literally walking through it. The monument invites the public to stroll amidst its glass branches and climb its stairs to gain particular look-outs. By this literal appropriation the structure the public becomes a part of the monument and contributes to an idea of production of culture and history. A similar effect has been described in the introverted balcony of the Altes Museum by Schinkel within sight of the projected monument. Berlin Einheits Denkmal aims to integrate and update this idea, expanding the production of public space through the monument from a bourgeois to a democratic audience.