User:Patience Carmen/draft

INTRODUCTION: Bundeswehr Military History Museum (German: Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr (MHM)) is the military museum of the German Armed Forces. The original armory was originally constructed in 1873, and first became a museum in 1897. The Structure has filled various needs in Germany’s volatile history functioning as a Saxon Armory, and subsequently a museum for the Nazis, Soviets, and East Germans. It is currently famed for holding the original Brandtaucher, the first German submarine, built in Kiel in 1850.

HISTORY and DESIGN In 2001, the city opened an architectural competition in an effort to breathe new life into the old building, stipulating that they hoped to find a submission that ‘changed the way we think about war’. Similar to I.M. Pei’s 1989 glass pyramid in the Paris Musee du Louvre palace, and Rafael Moneo’s addition to the Madrid Prado, the Museum hoped to retain their original structure while connecting additional gallery space. The selected design was created by an originally Polish, but American-based architect named Daniel Libeskind. With the help of his pupil Gottfried Semper, and structural engineers GSE Ingenieur, the firm created a ninety-eight foot high, 14,500 ton, wedge of concrete and steel that cuts through the 19th century stone arsenal. Emerging from the rigid order and symmetry of the original Arsenal, the shard–like wedge appears stark yet open in form, utilizing strips of metal to allow the effect of transparency and lightness. Most amazingly, the wedge does not truly cut into the old masonry, but instead is fixed to the iron and sandstone using steel. The tubular vertical members adjacent to the masonry bear the majority of the dead load as it is translated down through the members of the steel framework. In addition to supporting the dead and live loads, the internal steel frame transfers any lateral wind loads from the curtain wall to the foundation. The construction lasted for six years, and cost the German Military eight-six million dollars. Compared to Libeskind’s newest high profile design, One World Trade Center, the cost is miniscule (the latter costing close to three billion dollars). The architect’s last museum redesign, however, The Jewish Museum in Berlin, cost forty million, half as much as the Bundeswehr Museum. The wedge itself is hollow except for a viewing platform at the apex which points directly to the south, the direction from which the controversial WWII allied air raids on the city began. The bombing destroyed most of the city, amazingly leaving the arsenal as one of its few unharmed victims. The viewing platform could be an advantageous position for historic recollection and present perspective; yet the platform is screened in by aluminum mesh, recalling a prison rather than a testament of manumission.

PLACE IN THE HISTORY OF STRUCTURAL ART: Museums provide interesting studies in the evolution of structures through their intrinsic connections with particular architectural iconography. Revered as hallowed halls of culture, museums were initially designed to resemble classical temples- a recollection of the pillars of classical knowledge, beauty, and education. In present times, the museum has been used not as a recollection to the past, but instead as a medium for displaying the potential of national and global technology through cultural advancement. The newly renovated Bundeswehr Museum embodies these ideals of Modernism by retaining their ties to tradition and history, while and concurrently thrashing the archetype with cutting edge construction. Certainly a symbolic addition, the wedge rises as a testament to democratic freedom against the unyielding power of Germany’s past reign. The wedge also cuts directly through the exhibits that focus on WWI and WWII, breaking the chronological progression and allowing space for thematic exhibitions focusing on the societal forces and human impulses that foster human violence. In a Nation that is criticized for brushing their history ‘under the rug’, the new addition personifies the gaping void left by oppressive regimes like the Third Reich, facilitating the much needed attention and discussion. The History Museum is the optimal setting for such emotive recollection, and the new building has provides an excellent forum for the necessary attention and discussion. REDIRECT 1 File:File:Militärhistorisches_Museum_der_Bundeswehr_October_2011.jpg|Caption2