This is one of my desert island buildings. Two of the finest modern architects were involved in its initial build and its recent renovation.
It is the only building designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Europe after he emigrated from Germany in 1937. It opened in 1968, one year before he died. He had the idea of a floating roof plane over a clear-span space in the 1940s, so it took some time before he could realise the concept.
You enter into an expanse of space and light before taking stairs down to the galleries below ground level. There are no columns in the hall. The roof (which was lifted into place in one piece) is supported by eight exterior columns, two on each side of the building.
It was renovated by David Chipperfield in 2015–21, when he tried to be an “invisible architect” and follow the brief of “as much Mies as possible”. He did this by dismantling 35,000 parts (including one ashtray), assigning each one a 16-digit code and leaving only the black steel frame and concrete substructure intact. The parts were cleaned and put back, as far as possible, in exactly the same place. Asbestos and other hazardous materials were removed. The main additions were a lift, a new cloakroom, LED lighting and underfloor heating. It reopened in 2021.
The spire just popping its head over the wall is St.-Matthäus-Kirche.
