28) Kongresshalle

Neurotically symbolic in form and choice of location, on the north side of Tiergarten along the Spree, Haus der Kulturen der Welt is an extraordinary building. Hyper-charged with the weight of semiotics, it cannot escape irony. The contribution of the United States for the International Bauausstellung of 1957, HKW is conceived as the embodiment of the friendship between Germany and USA, and their cooperation. The large auditorium with its suspended ceiling, expressively culminates on top of the ground floor and its wide foyer, the cafe, offices, and smaller conference rooms. The climax of the circulation is on the full roof terrace, always accessible in front of the building through a monumental free standing stairway. Under the stairs a vast rectangular water basin endlessly inflates the rhetoric of the ascension. One could think that people call it pregnant oyster for more than one reason. On May 21 1980 at 11a.m. part of the ambitious roof construction collapses on the south side and a large part of the ground floor is destroyed under the enormous pressure.