architectureinberlin

UPDATE: Have had a really positive response for this, and only a couple of places left (numbers limited as we’re trooping into people’s apartments). First come first served!

(Not very) advanced notice that this saturday, a few of our group will be meeting up to look at some of the IBA buildings on Kochstrasse, with some access to flats and possibly including John Hejduk’s ‘Kreuzberg Tower’ which is just a block away.  It’s not an ‘official’ tour, since I’m leading it – more a test run to see if it might be worth running ‘proper’ tours of parts of the IBA and other lesser-known Berlin architecture.

For those who don’t know (despite my obsessive blogging on the subject, see right hand column!) the Berlin IBA, an international building exhibition exhibition of the 1980s, produced a huge quantity and variation of buildings, mainly housing, in a swathe running from south Tiergarten to the far end of Kreuzberg. There’s way too much to cover in a day, or a month, but the area around Checkpoint Charlie is particularly interesting, with designs by OMA, Peter Eisenmann, MBM, Aldo Rossi, and on the block to the south, John Hejduk’s now fabled tower.

Meet at 11am on the corner of Kochstrasse and Wilhelmstrasse at 11am. Let me know if you fancy coming: jimhudson40 (at) googlemail.com.  Probably a couple of hours, then maybe a spot of lunch/drinks somewhere.

Our informal architecture group* has been on a few tours now, including the new building on Linienstrasse, the Dutch embassy and the Shellhaus.  I dismally failed to write about the Shellhaus visit, but my fellow archi-groupie has, over at Nicht Winken! In der Großstadt! In fact she’s posting far more than me, and I wouldn’t blame regular readers for migrating over there.  In my favour, I can claim that I was braver (well alright, taller) when leaning out over the staircase shaft. Although, as is often the case, I seem to have put my foot in it.

Thanks to everyone who made it along to the Dutch Embassy yesterday, apologies once again that it had to be a weekday, rather limiting it to people with flexible jobs.

A shame that photography is no longer allowed, and that we had to be followed around by a grumpy security man, but hey.  I managed to take some images when I went last year, and the external parts of the building are pretty easily accessible for that souvenir shot.

Tours as a group or as an individual are pretty easy to arrange, by contacting bln-receptie (at) minbuza.nl.  They need your name, date of birth and passport / ID card number.  Remember to bring your passport/ID card along with you, as if you forget it, you’ll have to try and persuade the grumpy security guard that your driver’s license is sufficient ID, while the group that you’ve arrived with chuckle at your own lack of organisation. Er, I imagine.

My ancient post, plus Flickr images.

A picture of that pot plant, for Katja, as I know she loves ‘em:

Very short notice, but if you fancy a guided tour of Rem Koolhaas’ Dutch Embassy next Wednesday at 1pm, I need to send them a list of who’s coming by late afternoon tomorrow (Friday 5th Feb).

For each person, I need name, date of birth and a passport or ID card number.

jim_hudson33(at)yahoo.co.uk

Well worth a visit.  If you want to go along some other time, you can email them direct at bln-receptie(at)minbuza.nl.