‘Berlin’s Museum Island is a project meant for generations’
Head of construction planning for Berlin’s Museum Island, Dr Ralf Nitschke speaks to Vineet Gill about the master plan for restoring old museums in this complex and building new ones.
umsinsel is a process for decades. Restoring World Heritage buildings can cost a lot, both in terms of time and money. You simply cannot restore all buildings at the same time. You have to do it step by step.
Q. Could you tell us about the financing of this project? Who is your main sponsor? A.
We are financed by the state of Germany, and also by the Federal States ( in German: Laender). One part of the budget is provided by the state, the other by all the federal regions.
Q. Could this be the world’s biggest infrastructural upgrade plan for culture? A.
I’m not sure. The reconstruction of the Louvre in Paris was also a very ambitious project.
Q. But it didn’t quite take half a century to complete, which is what we are looking at here in Berlin? A.
That’s true. Museumsinsel has always been— and will remain— a project for generations.
Q. What about support from the civil society? How do you respond to those who say that this project is too expensive for the tax payer, and too long-drawn, with all those missed deadlines? A.
You can’t generalise on this point and you have to speak about every single building on the island. Last year, we had to tell the public that the reconstruction of Pergamonmuseum will take longer than what had been planned. Originally, our plan was to reopen it in 2021. And it will also cost more than was originally planned. There are many reasons for that. One thing is that the building ground, the foundation, of Museumsinsel is possibly the worst in Berlin. Not only because of the river Spree, but also because of the uneven terrain. Underneath the Neues Museum, for example, in the one corner, we have stable ground at the depth of three metres, while at the other corner, stable ground is to be found forty metres deep. In former times wooden pillars had to be used to level the foundation. Under the southern wing of Pergamonmuseum, the base was so uneven that the architects had to build a bridge to level the foundation in the 1930s. Therefore restoring or construction work on the island requires very special skills. And not everyone can do this. It takes some time to find builders we can work with. Recently, one of our big contract partners faced a financial disaster, and we had to look for a new one, which took around six months. This is also one of those factors that can delay the project.
Q. But there’s also the criticism that the state’s resources should be directed more towards basic infrastructure – health, transport, etc. — than to cultural institutions. In a city like Delhi or Mumbai, such a museum upgrade project would cause an uproar. Did you get enough support from the residents of Berlin? A.
Yes, the people of Berlin support us a lot. Besides, if you look at the budget allocation of governments, only a small part is spent on culture. If you compare it to the amount spent on, say, defence or health, the amount is rather small. But we are very happy that the German Government and the Federal States enable us to preserve our cultural heritage.
Q. What can other cities learn from Berlin in terms of developing, preserving and upgrading cultural infrastructure? A.
I think we can all learn from each other. At the beginning of the year we visited London and met our colleagues at the British Museum, the Tate Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum. At all these big museums, there is some building activity going on. So it becomes very important for us to talk to colleagues and to learn from them.