Sunday 11 August 2013

Berlin Unite 2


The Berlin unite is a bit unloved, not by the people who live in it, who seem to like it right enough, but by everybody else, including LC himself, who walked off the job. He might not have liked the site, stuck out by the Nazi Olympic Stadium, a bit too close for comfort, and he might not have enjoyed the commission in the first place; a sort of consolation prize for his unexecuted Berlin city plan, he may not have liked the district, a zone of Hansel and Gretel type villas in the woods, or maybe he didn't like sausage and beer. It is certainly not at all Mediterranean this unite, look at the services, exposed in a glass box on the ground floor, look at the makeshift maintenance shed the Germans have added for their technicians in blue overalls to enjoy. There is not a trace of romantic funnel here, just fact. In fact there is nothing of interest on the roof at all, but think again, and you realise it's bloody cold here in winter, and I would prefer my services to work rather than just look good- look that tank is lagged! And as for rooftop kindergarten, forget it, the Germans like their kids collecting leaves in the woods, behaving like nymphs, not stuck up in the air. Just walk around the area a bit and you'll soon see.
The colour scheme is a bit strange, we sat opposite a lady wearing exactly the same kind of vivid zigzag pattern on a onesie on the 'U' bahn getting there, the sort of pattern German goalkeepers used to wear. Maybe that's sort of 'German' too, and the thing rises out of a car park (see previous post)- well the Germans like their cars. Context see, context...

No comments:

Post a Comment