Course Description

This course provides an overview of the development of public and private architecture in Berlin during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Following an introduction to the urban development and architectural history of the Modern era, the Neo-Classical period will be surveyed with special reference to the works of Schinkel. This will be followed by classes on architecture of the German Reich after 1871, which was characterized by both modern and conservative tendencies and the manifold activities during the time of the Weimar Republic in the 1920s such as Modernist avantgarde and the Housing Revolution. The architecture of the Nazi period will be examined, followed by the developments in the divided city in East and West Berlin after the Second World War. The course concludes with a detailed review of the city’s more recent and current architectural profiles, including a critical analysis of the conflicts concerning the re-design of Berlin after the Cold War and the German reunification and contemporary planning issues.

Seven walking tours to historically significant buildings and sites are included (Unter den Linden, Gendarmenmarkt, New Housing Estates, Chancellory, Potsdamer Platz, Holocaust Memorial etc.). The course aims to offer a deeper understanding of the interdependence of Berlin’s architecture and the city’s social, economic and political structures. It considers Berlin as a model for the highways and by-ways of a European capital in modern times.

Download Syllabus (printable PDF incl. day-to-day schedule)

Recommended Course Combinations (Selection)

• Berlin: Music and Sound in the Digital Age
• History of European Art: Travelling Artists and Artworks
• Urban Imaginaries: Between Place and Space in Berlin