THE GEDÄCHTNISKIRCHE OR KAISER WILHELM MEMORIAL CHURCH

THE GEDÄCHTNISKIRCHE is the symbolic centre of West Berlin and also the memorial to peace and reconciliation. After allied bombing during the WWII, the original west Tower has remained standing as a ruin. This is the only building on the square which was spared by the bombing and deliberately preserved. Built between 1891-95 in memory of Kaiser Wilhelm I, the first German Emperor, by Franz Schwechten in neo-romanesque style, it contains photographic exhibits of the Church and liturgical objects from bygone days and mosaics.

VITRA DESIGN MUSEUM, WEIL AM RHEIN, GERMANY

By Frank Gehry 1989. The vitra design museum is an abstract assemblage of cuboids and curvaceous forms. It is a small building used for the exhibit of chairs designed by Gehry. The forms are assembled without logic, and I think this is why the building is unique.

CHAPEL OF NOTRE DAME DU HAUT, RONCHAMP, FRANCE

Le Corbusier's "chapel of our lady of the height" is an excursion chapel designed in 1955
Tourists are attracted by the massive and curved walls. In addition it is so pleasant to admire at the vast shell of the concrete roof which give the building a massive, sculptural form. The exterior contrasts perfectly to the modest interior of the chapel.

REICHSTAG DOME, BERLIN , GERMANY2

The dome is a luminous metal and glass structure with a ramp that spirals up a to a roof terrace with 360-degree views of central Berlin. The dome overlooks the debating chamber for the Bundestag and a central mirrored cone draws light into the plenary chamber. Foster was wined the Pritzker Prize in 1999 for his work on the building. The Bundestag parliament has become one of the top tourist destinations in Berlin. The line is very long winter as summer.

REICHSTAG DOME, BERLIN , GERMANY 1

By Norman Foster 1999.. The former home of German democracy was further damaged during Allied bombing of Berlin in World War II. It was left in this run until the 1960s, when it was opened as a conference center. The Reichstag was the site of the German reunification ceremonies at midnight on October 2, 1990. The Foster team's design focuses on making the processes of government more transparent

JEWISH MUSEUM, KREUZBERG BERLIN,GERMANY

Jewish Museum, Kreuzberg Berlin,Germany
By Daniel Libeskind 1998, the museum opened in 2001. This building looks unusual. The architect based his design on a moderately involved process of connecting lines between locations of historic events and locations of Jewish culture in Berlin. These lines form a basic outline and structure for the building. Libeskind also has used the concepts of absence, emptiness, and the invisible to design the building. He expresses the disappearance of Jewish culture in the city. One other detail is the window shape, which looks different and he zig-zagging zinc surface from the siding which remembers strangely containers.

HAUSE DER KULTUR DER WELT

Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin-Tiergarten, Germany
The Congress Hall was the American contribution to the International Building Exhibition in 1957. It was declared as a gift of America to its close affiliate of West Berlin. Hugh A. Stubbins, Werner Düttmann and Franz Mocken, built a technically revolutionary building in 1957. I found the roof structure very artistic. The roof is supported on both sides by steel anchors which only rest on two points. In front of the building is an impressive large pond, in the middle of which Henry Moore's bronze sculpture "Big Butterfly" can be seen. The building is used as theater, exhibition area, congress and seminar.

LA GRANDE ARCHE DE LA DEFENSE

Located just beyond the city La Grande Arche de La Défense supports the eastern end of the historic axis that stretches from the Louvre down the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. The arch is actually a 35-story office building. An important point is that the area surrounding La Défense is home to modern office towers housing 14 of France’s top 20 corporations. Von Spreckelsen’s scheme was chosen by Mitterrand in an international competition for its 'purity and strength' in 1989. Unfortunately Johan Otto Von Spreckelsen died before its completion.

OPERA DE LA BASTILLE

The opera was built in1989 by Carlos Ott. It Opened on July13 in1989 with an opera gala concert, marking the bicentennial of the destruction of the Bastille fortress. The most interesting part is the Main auditorium that count 2703 seats. The building also includes the "Amphithéâtre" 700 seats, the "Studio" 237 seats. For me the insside is relly amazing.

INSTITUT DU MONDE ARABE

At Paris, 1988 and in a modern style Jean Nouvel produces a wonderfull building with a nice composition of forms. He reinterprets traditional Arab latticework screens in glass and steel. In fact 30,000 light-sensitive diaphragms are designed to regulate the penetration of light into the building. The unique use of high-tech photosensitive mechanical devices to control light levels and transparency made this building famous.