ARCHITECTURAL WORLD

The Berlin Wall stood in Berlin, Germany, for 28 years, 2 months, and 26 days. However, it was not just any wall—it was the Wall: politically, a symbol of the post-World War II Cold War world order; architecturally, an example of the power of the most basic building block of architecture; and artistically, a giant 166-kilometer-long blank canvas. After the defeat of the Third Reich in 1945, both Germany and its capital, Berlin, were partitioned into four zones, each under the administration of one of the Allies: Great Entries A–F 263 Britain, France, the United States, and the USSR. The partition of Germany was done so along existing provincial boundaries. The partition of Berlin, which was located in the middle of the Soviet sector, was done so in terms of postal codes. In 1949 the French-, British-, and American-controlled sectors were merged to form the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), with Bonn as its capital. In that same year, the Soviet-controlled eastern quarter of Germany be...

Reciprocal reasons justify historians emphasizing the modern era when studying Berlin’s architectural history: the sheer amount built and the sheer amount destroyed. Unique among European capitals, Berlin exemplifies both formative dynamism and annihilative zest. Between the German unification and reunification (1871–1991), razing spoke as much as raising—and each still speaks today. In 1800 Berlin was still a moderate, regional city. Centuries of accommodating the Hohenzollern and their baroque and neo-classical edifices (by Schülters and Schinkel, respectively) added dignity, not development. However, by 1900, Berlin emerged a continental parvenu—an empire seat whose aggregate population had multiplied 15 times (from 170,000 to 2.7 million), making it Europe’s third-ranked metropolis and possibly the most densely inhabited. Heavy industry and railway centraliza tion induced immigration, necessitating rapid, blanketing, polycentric growth. Mietskas ernen (rental barracks) distended ou...