HARTAIXX2016-V014100

Summary

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, designed by architect Peter Eisenman, opened in 2005. This architectural memorial, composed of nearly 3,000 concrete pillars across an undulating landscape, creates a labyrinthine effect that induces a contemplative and reflective memory. Unlike traditional memorials, it doesn't commemorate a single person or group but evokes the memory of the Holocaust's societal impact. The project's abstract design, chosen for its ability to foster critical memory, stands out in its ability to reflect the horror of the historical event it memorializes.

Takeaways

• 🌳 Walking through Berlin, you gradually enter the site, noticing low blocks at the edges.
• 🏞️ The undulating ground descends quickly, and the height of the blocks increases rapidly.
• 🌆 The project initially blends with the city, with gridded blocks echoing surrounding facades.
• 🌲 The abstraction of the blocks contrasts with the greenery of the Tiergarten.
• 🌌 Inside the project, the horizon disappears, and a sense of a labyrinth takes over, causing disorientation.
• 🔀 There are multiple entry points with no clear exit, creating an enclosed world.
• 🕍 The memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe, designed by Peter Eisenman, opened in May 2005 in Berlin Mitte.
• 📏 The site has nearly 3,000 concrete pillars on undulating ground, covering almost the size of three football fields.
• 🕰️ The project took almost 17 years to complete due to construction issues and debates.
• 🎗️ The memorial is dedicated to Jewish victims of Nazi genocide in WWII, aiming to induce a critical memory of historical events through its abstract architecture.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the memorial described in the script?

The memorial is dedicated to the Jewish victims of Nazi genocide during World War II.

Who designed the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin?

The memorial was designed by American architect Peter Eisenman.

How does the memorial integrate with the surrounding environment?

The memorial initially identifies itself with the city through the gridded blocks that echo surrounding facades, creating a contrast with the greenery of the nearby Tiergarten.

What happens to the visitor's sense of orientation upon entering the memorial?

Visitors quickly lose their sense of orientation as the horizon disappears and the sense of a labyrinth takes over, creating a feeling of being in an enclosed world without a clear exit.

How many concrete pillars, or 'stelae,' are there in the memorial?

The memorial comprises almost 3,000 concrete pillars, known as 'stelae.'

What are some challenges in describing the memorial project?

The project is difficult to describe both conceptually and materially due to its abstract nature and the debates surrounding its creation.

Why does the script refer to the memorial as producing 'critical memory'?

'Critical memory' refers to a reflective, contemplative form of memory that the memorial seeks to induce regarding the structural condition of society and the historical event it commemorates.

Why was abstraction chosen as the architectural mode for this memorial?

Abstraction was chosen as it aligns with the need to produce 'critical memory,' allowing visitors to reflect on the historical significance and horror of the Holocaust.

How does the memorial differ from traditional memorials?

Unlike traditional memorials that commemorate the life of a single person or a group, this memorial aims to induce memory of a historical event—the Holocaust—through its abstract design.

What themes are central to the presentation about the memorial?

The central themes of the presentation are 'critical memory' and the 'abstraction of architecture' as a means of producing that critical memory.

Outlines

00:00

🏙️ Berlin's Undulating Memorial Landscape

This paragraph introduces the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, located in Berlin Mitte, designed by Peter Eisenman. It describes the initial impression of the site, with low blocks resembling park benches that quickly give way to a labyrinth of higher blocks. The design contrasts the city's grid with an abstract, undulating landscape that disorients visitors, evoking a sense of enclosure and loss of horizon. The memorial, which opened in May 2005, consists of nearly 3,000 concrete pillars spread across an area equivalent to three football fields. The project's complexity and the lengthy 17-year completion time are highlighted, emphasizing the construction challenges and the debates it sparked.

Keywords

💡Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and serves as the setting for the video's subject, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It's a significant location historically, particularly in the context of World War II and the Holocaust. The city's urban landscape is described in the script, setting the stage for the memorial's design and impact.

💡Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

This is the central subject of the video, a memorial designed by Peter Eisenman located in Berlin Mitte. It's a place of remembrance for the Jewish victims.

Highlights

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin is an abstract architectural project designed by Peter Eisenman.

The memorial's site has undulating ground and blocks that create a contrast with the surrounding greenery.

The project initially identifies with the city through gridded blocks but then immerses visitors in a labyrinthine experience, losing the horizon.

Opened in May 2005, the memorial took 17 years to complete due to construction issues and debates.

Dedicated to the Jewish victims of Nazi

Transcripts

[Music]

when you're walking through the city of

Berlin you're almost in it before you

know it the blocks at the edges of the

site are very very low almost like

benches almost like park benches but

very very quickly this undulating ground

descends and the height of the blocks

begin to change and come up very quickly

at first the project identifies itself

with a city there's something about the

gridded blocks that are kind of echoed

in some of those surrounding facades

the abstraction of the blocks also

creates a contrast with the greenery

with the trees and plants of the tier

garden

at first the project identifies itself

with the city but then when you get into

the project you begin to lose the

horizon the last trees of the tier

garden start to be submerged below the

horizon or the blocks raised up to cover

the horizon very quickly you lose the

sense of a grid and the sense of a

labyrinth starts to take over and you

lose orientation because there's no

marked entry there are many places you

can enter the project there's also no

clear exit and very very quickly you

feel like you're in an enclosed world

with no exit in May 2005 the memorial to

the murdered Jews of Europe opened in

Berlin Mitte which is the centermost

borough of the city of Berlin the

project was designed by the American

architect Peter Iceland in some ways is

a fairly simple project to describe it

comprises almost three thousand steel a

which are these concrete pillars or

blocks arrayed across a site of

undulating ground on a site that's

almost the size of three football fields

in other ways it's a very difficult both

conceptually and materially a very

difficult project to describe it took

almost 17 years to complete not only

because of construction issues but

because of debates surrounding the

project which we'll talk about later the

memorial is dedicated to the Jewish

victims of Nazi genocide in World War

two we haven't seen a project quite like

this in this course for one thing is the

first 21st century project that we've

seen but second the project really

doesn't have a program like a factory or

a church it doesn't have to provide or

house the function of worship as it

would a church or the function of work

as it would in a factory the project is

an art

textural memorial but what it

memorializes is not the life of a single

person like some great leader or

humanitarian and it's not really even

the lives of a people notwithstanding

that it is a memorial to the murdered

Jews of Europe what the program actually

calls for is to induce memory of a

structural condition of society of an

event in history

that should not be forgotten that cannot

be forgotten because of the horror of

the event itself I'll try to show how

the project constructs what I'll be

calling critical memory a kind of memory

that is reflective is contemplative and

critical memory will be one of the

themes of this presentation the second

theme is the abstraction of the

architecture as a response to the need

for critical memory or or abstraction is

a way of producing critical memory

scholars who have documented and

chronicled the two stage competition

process by which Peter Eisenman received

the Commission have have noted again and

again that I Simmons was the most

abstract of the 19 entries to the

competition and will want to ask why

abstraction was the sort of mode of

architecture that was chosen to produce

this work or invite this work of

critical memory