The design by heneghan peng architects, Dublin, with Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Berlin, was awarded 1st prize in the international competition for the replanning and expansion of the Old Tower of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The competition’s purpose was to redesign the original West Tower, which was partially destroyed during a bombing by the Allied Forces in 1943, and return it to the tourist circuit as a war memorial and exhibition space.
Originally built between 1891 and 1895 in Neo-Romanesque style following the designs of Franz Schwechten, the church was commissioned by Emperor Wilhelm II, who wanted to create a religious memorial in honor of his grandfather, Emperor Wilhelm I. In 1943, an air raid severely damaged the church. The surviving parts included a remnant of the spire, the entrance hall as well as the altar and baptistry. After the war, there were intentions for rebuilding the damaged structure, but the manner of restoration sparked debates.
In 1956, a two-phase competition selected architect Egon Eiermann to lead the reconstruction efforts. He proposed the demolition of the ruin in favor of creating a completely new building. The proposal led to public outrage. The initiative ended in a compromise, most of the body of the church was torn down, but the ruined tower, sometimes described as the “heart of Berlin” was kept and preserved as a war memorial. The tower became part of a four-part building ensemble, comprised of an octagonal nave, a hexagonal bell tower, a square chapel, and a foyer. The rebuilt church was consecrated in 1961.
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How to Save a Building from Demolition: Emerging Procedures to Uncover the Potential of Existing StructuresWe wanted people to get close again to the ruin so you feel the history embedded in those walls. For us the church is a symbol of Berlin’s complex history and an international site for memory, understanding and reconciliation. - architect Róisín Heneghan for The Irish Times
The competition for the replanning of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church will add a new visitor center to the tower and expand the exhibition space on the old church porch. The proposal also includes a new addition in the form of a circular pool, referencing the adjacent bombed rosette window. The design also removes part of the roof, rebuilt in the postwar period, to open up the tower and “create a continuous, central cavity with atmospheric force.”
Heritage restoration has been a recurring theme in recent times, with several projects aiming to address landmark buildings affected by or reminiscent of acts of war. Among them, the reconstruction of the Saxon Palace, a heritage site located in central Warsaw, Poland, and severely damaged during the Second World War, is set to be rebuilt by WXCA Architectural Design Studio following an international competition. On a similar note, Oppenheim Architecture has been announced as the winner of the competition for the redesign and restoration of the Besa Museum in Tirana, Albania, a museum dedicated to the Albanian code of honor, or “Besa,” and its impact on the Jewish population during the Holocaust.
