James Simon Gallery designed by David Chipperfield opens on Museum Island in Berlin
James Simon Gallery is the first new building on Museum Island since the Pergamon Museum. David Chipperfield’s project cost 134 million euros, and exactly 20 years have passed from the moment the master plan was approved until the opening.
A significant part of the gallery with an area of 10 900 square meters. m is located underground. Chipperfield calls it the “metro station”, thanks to which you can get into the surroundings: a tunnel leaves from it to the New Museum, and it opens to Pergamsky with a large portal.
The new building took on functions that did not accommodate the historical buildings. It houses ticket offices, wardrobes, a cafe, a gift shop, an audience of 300 seats and a temporary exhibition hall. From the terrace behind high nine-meter columns overlooks the Kupfergraben Canal. With the exception of the entrance area, trimmed with thin marble slabs, the walls and ceilings in the interior were left concrete.
