It is discovered that dead ends and empty spaces throughout the museum are used to create an eerie atmosphere. The deliberately sloped floors are intended to make visitors nauseate, while the orientation of the interior physically bringing visitors to sunlight, which is symbolic of the direction to salvation. These structural features contribute to the exploration of light, In the museum, light is used to juxtapose darkness in Holocaust Tower, the confined area reminds one f a gas chamber. In installation art Fallen Leaves, the combination of sound and light suggests a spiritual presence, haunting visitors with memories afar.
Throughout the museum are scar-like slits and windows, which gradually shifts the overall atmosphere of the museum from disturbance to relief. Light carries historical significance in the Jewish Museum Berlin because it allows readers to relive history, connecting emotionally with the past. It is a hopeful structure that aims not to condemn, but to remember by recording and ultimately accepting horrors of history. Word count: 300 words Chug Mary Yet Fan (0637 – 0020) Contents Introduction p. 4-5 Daniel Libertines and the Jewish Museum Berlin p. -7 Jewish Museum Berlin as a scared architecture p. 8-10 Structure of the Jewish Museum Berlin p. 11-14 Dead ends Linen floors and winding stairs The Void Natural light in the Jewish Museum Berlin p. 15-18 Holocaust tower Windows and slits of light Fallen Leaves by Menaces Sideman Conclusion p. 19-20 Bibliography p. 21 -22 Appendix p. 23 The 2009 Prettier laureate, Peter Azimuth differentiates architecture trot art as such, “it is concerned with insights and understanding, and above all with Ruth… Architectures artistic task is to give this still expectancy a tort” (Azimuth 19).
My passion in architecture comes from the fact that it is realistic, No matter how vantage the design, it always withholds a specific purpose and meaning for society at the time, giving a solid form for what is deemed abstract in the arts: the truth. In the Jewish Museum Berlin, the truth is presented in the form of light Light has long been a fundamental element of architecture, especially in contemporary architecture where light becomes a means of communication that inflicts complex emotions beyond words. Via understanding the importance of light in architecture, we come to have a better understanding of the world we live in. M intrigued by the ideas that each building holds, the truth, and how they are presented. This paper explores how effective is the use of natural light in instilling historical significance into the atmosphere Of an interior space. This depends on the treatment of light, whether it contrasts or compliments the exploration of central ideas. In the Jewish Museum Berlin, Daniel Libertines haunts visitors by the “insupportable, immeasurable, unshakeable ruder” (Bankers 45) of the Holocaust, while connecting it to the Berlin museum as a gesture of the Jewish and German cultures’ reconciliation.
The atmosphere of the museum’s interior shifts and changes with different ways of light manipulation. This essay aims to address how light is manipulated to deliver historical significance into the museums’ interior, and how Libertines structures the interior to compliment the particular use tot natural light in order to create atmosphere. This essay starts with a brief introduction to the architect, Daniel Libertines, ND the structure, Jewish Museum Berlin, overВ»mewing its stylistic features and purpose, A comparison is drawn between the museum and sacred architecture, illustrating the symbols that light embodies.
Structural features of the museum that contribute to the manipulation of light are examined, such as dead ends, uneven floors, Winding stairs, and empty spaces, or voids. An analysis on the role natural light plays in creating atmosphere follows, focusing on the Holocaust tower, Windows, slits Of light, and installation art piece Fallen Leaves. Light is the intangible material that conveys intangible ideas in architecture. In the Jewish Museum Berlin, Daniel Libertines wants to address the void that is left behind after a massacre.
It achieves what mere concrete can’t: a subtle yet powerful way to establish emotional connection with something that isn’t graspable, and most importantly, to give voice to the past and history, giving the structure purpose and context. Chug Mary Yet pan (0637 ? 0020) The traumatic memory of growing up in Communist Poland (Gears) is integral to Daniel Libertines, where he comes to respect the importance Of history. In his Text talk on September 19th, 2012, he explains, every place has a history… Moieties the voices are inaudible, sometimes the actions are invisible and yet the history continues to cry out for justice. The architect of the Jewish Museum Berlin is no bystander Of Jewish history, but one Who is part Of it. A visit to Westernizes and its Jewish Cemetery has inspired Daniel Libertines to the idea of a void (Bankers 39). Looking at the empty slabs of tombstone, he was overwhelmed by the fact that these victims Will forever remain unheard. It became evident to him that he must bring this feeling into the museum, creating “a kind of haunting quality of spaces through which the passage of absence took lace” (Libertines 204).
From aerial view, the museum resembles a flash of lightning, twisting itself to create a jagged line. (Fig. 1) Long, rectangular windows pierce through the steel outer layer of the structure. (Fig, 2, 3) The only entrance of the museum is a small doomsday leading to an underground intersection tot passages that connects the Jewish Museum to the Berlin Museum. (Pig. 4) Another three passages guide visitors to three different collections that symbolize the pathway that most Jews take during the Nazi occupation: the “Axis of Continuity”, “Axis of Emigration” and “Axis of Holocaust”.
The Jewish museum is an act of remembrance, it is a void that “disclose how the past continues to affect the present”, haunting visitors with the trauma in the past But ultimately, Libertines is trying to “reveal how a hopeful horizon can be opened through the Portia of time” (Schneider 1 91 He incorporated light to guide visitors from the depths of the irreversible past to reality of the present, and giving them hopes for the future. Chug Mary Yet Pan (0637 – 0020) atmosphere Of an interior space? Figure I: The Jewish Museum Berlin from aerial view Source: Schneider, Gunter.
N. D. Photograph. Jewish Museum, Berlin. Studio Daniel Libertines. Web. 28 July 2013.
P. 58 Figure 4: The network of underground Passages Source: Schneider, Bernard. Daniel Libertines: Jewish Museum Berlin. 3rd deed. Munich: Presets Average, 2004 Print. P. 26 Jewish Museum Berlin as a Scared Architecture It is hard to define what “sacred” is because it is difficult to standardize what faith means to people, and how it is interpreted and practiced all over the world. Architectures that are related to religion such as temples, churches, shrines and etc. Are commonly grouped as religious, or sacred architecture.
However, Professor Spalding expanded the meaning of “sacred” in a broader sense in her lecture, “A Sense Of The Sacred’ Art and Architecture” on May 3rd, 2012 She fined “sacred” as something that “requires the artist, craftsman and viewer a special form of attention. Objects that have a special appropriateness or importance to use for some reason”. Based on this definition, the Jewish Museum Berlin can be seen as something sacred. In Gothic cathedrals, the introduction of natural light through tinted glass symbolizes the divine light Of God (Spiegel 191).
Similarly in mosques, light suggests a sense of holiness based on the verse “Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth” (Aziza). Undeniably, religious architectures and the Jewish museum employ the same material, which is light, to empower people. Unlike structures that are conventionally regarded as “sacred”, the manipulation of light in the museum isn’t aimed at addressing the presence of a higher deity. Rather, as mentioned above, to suggest the invisible presence of the deceased. The Jewish Museum is sacred in the sense that it is a physical representation of Jewish history.
It is a memorial site for the Jews that remained nameless in their deaths. Religious architecture serve as a connection point between the living and holy deities. The Jewish Museum performs a similar function of linking the living o the dead. Through the jagged structure and treatment of light, the presence of the invisible can be powerfully felt. The strongest connection to the sense of sacred is symbols of crosses. The cross is not a Jewish symbol, but a Catholic and Christian one. For Catholics, it is properly known as the crucifix, “a cross with the body fuses Christ attached to it’ (Del Rosaries).
It inspires followers to worship Christ as salvation for mankind is obtained upon his death. However for Christians, the cross is simultaneously a symbol of Jesus’ death and His Resurrection (Del Rosaries). These motifs of sacrifice and surjection remind visitors the brutality of history. The museum “resurrected” the past, as it is a tribute to Jewish history. By intersecting rectangular shapes that are equal in length, the sign off cross can be seen through the windows within the museum’s interior. (Fig. ) Another cross-shaped window is present on the museum’s outer surface, which echoes with the interior cross, giving repetition and perspective to the windows, Similarly to the way light passes through a church’s stained glass to suggest God’s presence, light entering these windows symbolizes the presence of something intangible, parietal even. The symbolic use of light to represent the deceased projects a sense of woefulness and sacred, Figure S: Cross-shaped windows Source: Chug, Mary. Photograph. Taken at Jewish Museum Berlin. JPG file. 30 June 2013. Suggesting that death and history are to be felt and not seen. The Garden of exile is composed of stone pieces that are equal in width and height, and are placed at equal distances apart. The uneven grounds of the garden, and the maze like slabs of stone create a nauseous feeling to visitors when looking ahead, to be relieved of this claustrophobic feeling, they raring their heads upwards. Because tooth even size and distribution of the stone blocks, the negative space in between garden tops suggest signs of the cross, which can be seen over and over as one walks within the garden. (Fig. ) The feeling of salvation becomes physical as one juxtaposes the feeling of entrapment when dwelling among stone Figure 6: Stone blocks in Garden of Exile Taken at Jewish Museum, Berlin. JPG file. Jejune 2013. Slabs, and relief when looking upwards and see crosses, which religiously suggests sacrifice. Libertines introduces the same contrast between relief and assistance into the interior of the museum, propelling his central idea of suggesting an invisible presence. The way natural light, or negative space is treated in the Garden of Exile is similar to Today Nod’s Church of Light.
And “removes any distinction of traditional Christian motifs and aesthetic” (Karol). He masterfully deconstructs the sense of holiness to light. As a result, the contrast between light and dark creates a “humble, meditative place Of worship” (Karol). The void created by Figure 7: Today Nod’s Church Of Light Source: Fuji, Annoy. N. D. Photograph. Archaically. Web. 21 Cot. 013. -today-and/>. The for rectangular stone slabs is the only symbol of Christ, which in turn makes the interior infinitely more powerful and pure than actual, physical representations of the Church.
The distinctive lines of the stone slabs are highlighted with the projection of light, the cross sign is reflected onto walls and mirrors. Similarly to And, Libertines manipulates with the idea of a void in the Garden of Exile, using negative space to deliver the sense of spirituality. In light of monumental events such as the Holocaust, any physical symbolization would appear rather shallow and ephemeral. Using abstract materials such as light in the context of the Jewish Museum Berlin, however, spiritualists the invisible in a poetic and empowering way.
When stripped away of any physical connotations, the past and the invisible can be felt as they truly are, communicating With visitors complex emotions that are beyond words and time. The structure of the museum is crucial to the titration of its interior space, and therefore the way light is used to create different atmospheres and delivering historical significances. The use of quadrilateral shapes results in the defined angles and lines within the windows, shadows and spaces, creating a cage-like interior that suggests violence.
Daniel Libertines projects the Jewish way of thinking into the structure of the maximize museum, as he explains, “in the Jewish tradition, ideas are not simply posited as ready-made, but are arrived at through an endless process of questioning The buildings organization poses many questions to visitors. There is no set way to read the building’ (Bitter Libertines 21). Dead ends (Bib 8) are stylistic of the museum. Throughout the museum are abrupt stops, stairs leading to nowhere and empty areas.
As result, natural light reflects and refracts within these empty hallways, creating luminous patches Of light onto walls, the floor and the ceiling. Walking through the museum is an exploration itself, While these spaces and dead ends create an eerie atmosphere. Once again, the sense of emptiness represents the invisible, silent presences. Figure 8: Dead end Source: Chug, Mary, Photograph, JPG file, 30 June 2013. 12 In the museum, windows do not necessarily introduce sunlight. There are windows (Pig. G) in the museums that reveal concrete walls, which is the main material for the structure.
