04 Juni 2012

After over 24 hours of traveling, I finally arrived in Berlin with the rest of the group. Our apartment is gorgeous, complete with a balcony and huge windows overlooking Peter Eisenman’s Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

After settling in, Mr. Caldwell took us EVERYWHERE. Literally everywhere.

My favorite of the day was the Fire and Police Station by Sauerbruch + Hutton, which was completed in 2004. This building is interesting to me because of its use of color. It is covered in colored louvers that can be opened all the way or just partially, allowing for control of the light and ventilation inside the building. The green louvers represent the police force here in Berlin, and the red ones represent the firemen. The two colors start out separately at the two ends of the building and blend together as they reach the middle.

We also saw Axel Schultes’s Chancellery

And finally, after wandering all over town along the Spree River and seeing countless other buildings, we returned back to our apartments and crashed in preparation for the next day.