OUT OF SIGHT – OUT OF MIND
Grüntuch / Ernst architects
Berlin 2005
All discussions go round in circles. Nostalgic friends of the Castle, friends of the GDR, young alternative audiences or committed visionaries all fail to answer: What should take place behind the facades?
We propose to give time and space for a level-headed approach. We propose to blank out the castle area in order to protect what remains fragile and unfinished, to allow for a process of maturing.
A new installation that traces the former building mass brings the volume of the Castle back as an urban experience. Its surface engages the perception of the viewer: During daytime, the gaze will be reflected and the surrounding historical facades will appear in their mirror image.
As dusk sets in, the membrane will become transparent and will allow glimpses into the brightly lit Castle Gardens behind. New activities reveal themselves to the urban surroundings. The Castle Garden sends new signals into the city.
The hidden garden is a conceptual laboratory, which will create new opportunities to reflect on the future, free from the overpowering context of the site.
