danish architecture firm dorte mandrup has won an international competition to build a new museum in berlin, dedicated to those who fled in exile during the second world war. symbolically located by the ruins of the anhalter bahnhof railway station, the ‘exilmuseum’ will tell the stories of those who were forced out of the country during the nazi regime, while simultaneously considering the present day where millions of people are displaced from their homes. the winning competition entry was chosen ahead of other proposals from SANAA, diller scofidio + renfro, and francis kéré, among others.

dorte mandrup exilmuseum berlin
all images by mir

 

 

dorte mandrup’s scheme engages with the ruins of the former anhalter bahnhof on askanischer platz, which stands as an important monument and symbol of all those driven into exile during the second world war. the exilmuseum will house permanent and special exhibitions as well as educational facilities and a restaurant. in addition to providing historical facts and contextual analysis, the museum will also present many individual biographies of exiled people. ‘it will put less emphasis on the display of material objects and instead work in a very media-intensive way with scenographically conceived spaces,’ explains the design team.

dorte mandrup exilmuseum berlin

 

 

the stiftung exilmuseum berlin was established in 2018 as a civic initiative by nobel laureate herta müller, former german president joachim gauck, and the art dealer and cofounder of villa grisebach, bernd schultz. the new museum, which is expected to cost around €27 million euros, plans to open its doors in 2025. all of the competition entries will be on display in the staatsbibliothek berlin from september 28, 2020.

 

 

project info:

 

name: stiftung exilmuseum berlin
location: berlin, germany
winning team: dorte mandrup, höhler & partner, and TOPOTEK1 with buro happold
renderings: mir