☉ Museum of the 20th Century is a proposal by Beatriz Alés and Elena Zaera for Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz designed in 2016. It is located in Berlin Germany in an urban setting. Its scale is large with a surface of 26.000 sqm an estimated budget of 110.000.000 € and a ratio of 4.231 €/sqm. Key materials are concrete and glass. Concepts such as plaza and underground are explored. Review the 8 proposals for the same competition.
The new museum M20 will be home to tens of art pieces that are now in several galleries and archives of Berlin, and it is an opportunity to develop the urban design of the very last empty plot in the Kulturforum, lying between its solitary neighbors. The building figure and heights development of our proposal encourages a connection to those iconic buildings. The new urbanistic situation gives back the leading role to the Kulturforum plaza, which now is giving access to the M20, as well as to its restaurant and media room, to St.-Matthäus Church and to the Kammermusiksaal. The one-way structure, made up of concrete walls, cores and present beams, encloses the interior space and creates a robust atmosphere in contrast to the transparent façades. The central stair connects the underground floors with the first floor, where the exhibition areas are placed. Maximum flexibility and adaptability is granted through the clear structural distribution of the exhibition spaces, as well as the underground connection to the Mies van der Rohe Neue Nationalgalerie.