Berlin, 15.10.2009 Seite 1 von 2 PRESS RELEASE Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Generaldirektion Stauffenbergstraße 41 Masterplan Museum Island Berlin D-10785 Berlin

Projection for the future Mechtild Kronenberg Leiterin der Abteilung Presse, As a unique ensemble forming a landscape of learning, the Kommunikation und Sponsoring Museum Island Berlin represents 100 years of museum archi- [email protected] www.smb.museum tecture right in the very heart of Berlin. The reunification of www.smb.museum/neuesmuseum Germany presented the historic opportunity to reunite the di- vided collections in the East and West. In 1999, UNESCO Anne Schäfer-Junker placed the Museum Island Berlin under its protection, declar- Presse Tel. + 49 (0)30 266 42 3402 ing it a World Cultural Heritage Site. Fax + 49 (0)30 266 42 3409 [email protected] In 1999, the Board of Trustees decided on a master plan for www.smb.museum/presse the renovation of the various buildings as well as the concur- rent development of the entire museum quarter. The plan also Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz formed an intrinsic part of the application for the distinction to Dr. Stefanie Heinlein become a ‘World Cultural Heritage Site’. In it, the five historic Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit buildings making up the ensemble are conceived of as a Von-der-Heydt-Str. 16–18 D-10785 Berlin whole, while at the same time respect is paid to the architec- Tel. + 49 (0)30 25463 206 tural distinctness of each individual building. Putting the idea Fax + 49 (0)30 25463 268 of the Masterplan into practice was a task taken up by the Mu- [email protected] seum Island Planning Group, formed in 1998 and composed of the various architectural offices commissioned to renovate the individual buildings, under the overall direction of David Chip- perfield Architects.

Two aspects of the restoration of the Museum Island are being given special attention: firstly considerable efforts are being made to preserve the character of the historic exhibition prem- ises. Secondly measures are being undertaken to develop the museum complex as a whole into a cultural site apt for the future. Public expectations regarding the restitution of the Mu- seum Island's status as a highly symbolic cultural site in the centre of Berlin are huge. 1.5 million visitors per year - set to rise to 3 million when modifications and refurbishmet are completed - are ample proof of the pressing need for addi- tional infrastructure as set out in the Master Plan: the new entrance building and the Archaeological Promenade.

From the structural point of view the Archaeological Prome- nade represents the concept of uniting the archaeological col- lections on the Museum Island. It will connect the Bode Mu- seum, the Pergamon Museum, the Neues Museum and the Altes Museum at level "0". Accessible from all these, it also

provides an easy route to the main thoroughfare in the Per- gamon Museum. With its succession of rooms and courtyards the Archaeological Promenade will create in interdisciplinary Seite 2 von 2 axis to whose exhibits all museums on the Museum Island Staatliche Museen zu Berlin contribute. In a main circuit in the Pergamon Museum the Generaldirektion large streams of visitors will be presented the major exhibits Stauffenbergstraße 41 of the Berlin Museums, i.e. the monumental architecture of the D-10785 Berlin old world. At the same time, these exhibits each continue to Mechtild Kronenberg be connected spatially with the associated collections. Each Leiterin der Abteilung Presse, building, which also has its own entrance, offers individual Kommunikation und Sponsoring visitors a direct, undisturbed, intensive encounter with its [email protected] collections. www.smb.museum www.smb.museum/neuesmuseum

The colonnades surrounding the Neues Museum and Alte Na- Anne Schäfer-Junker tionalgalerie are once again being made accessible or in places Presse re-erected, with their continuation in the direction of the Tel. + 49 (0)30 266 42 3402 Fax + 49 (0)30 266 42 3409 James Simon-Galerie transposed into a modern language of [email protected] forms. The southern dome of the colonnades was reinstalled in www.smb.museum/presse July 2009. Grounds and gardens are currently undergoing re- development and will be open to visitors all the way up to the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz courtyards of the Bode-Museum. Dr. Stefanie Heinlein Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit The various research administrative centres, with libraries and Von-der-Heydt-Str. 16–18 archives, study rooms and restoration workshops, will be D-10785 Berlin Tel. + 49 (0)30 25463 206 gathered together and moved to the Museumshöfen on the Fax + 49 (0)30 25463 268 other side of Kupfergraben to create more space for essential [email protected] and service facilities.

This concept will mark the sustainable completion of the Mu- seum Island Berlin ensemble, allowing it to be enjoyed by generations to come.

3D-model of the future Museum Island Berlin, view from the Lustgarten © Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation / ART+COM, 2008