Sunday, September 8, 2013

Bundeskanzleramt

Bundeskanzleramt, German Chancellery, Berlin by Eduardo Chillida, Berlin

Bundeskanzleramt (German Chancellery) designed by Charlotte Frank and Axel Schultes
In the forecourt: the sculpture “Berlin” by Eduardo Chillida, 2000
Berlin, September 2011

“Occupying 12,000 square meters (129,166 square feet), it is also one of the largest government headquarters buildings in the world. By comparison, the new Chancellery building is eight times the size of the White House. A semi official Chancellor apartment is located on the top floor of the building. The 200 square meter two-room flat has thus far only been occupied by Gerhard Schröder; current Chancellor Angela Merkel prefers to live in her private apartment in Berlin. Because of its distinctive but controversial architecture, journalists, tourist guides and some locals refer to the buildings as Kohllosseum (as a mix of Colosseum and former chancellor Helmut Kohl under whom it was built), Bundeswaschmaschine (federal laundry machine, because of the round-shaped windows and its cubic form), or Elefantenklo (elephant loo).” (Berlin 2001: the new Chancellery building, Wikipedia)

3 comments: