The Reichstag New German Parliament
Berlin, Germany · 1999
Photo · Photo by Nigel Young
A precedent for high-tech public interventions, demonstrating how a helical ramp and glazed dome can create a transparent, light-filled public promenade atop a historic civic building.
- What we like about this project
- The central cone is clad in angled mirrors that reflect daylight deep into the parliamentary chamber below.
Materials
- steel
- glass
- concrete
- mirror
Visual identifiers
- helical-ramp
- glass-dome
- mirrored-cone
- reichstag-dome
- norman-foster
Style tags
- high-tech
- structural-expressionism
- contemporary
Visual tags
- high-tech
- public-space
- daylighting
- panoramic-view
- helical-circulation
- historic-intervention
- Geometry
- A soaring, double-helical ramp system wraps around a central, tapered cone clad in mirrored panels, all enclosed within a lightweight steel-and-glass dome structure.
- Facade system
- Steel-framed glazed dome structure.
- Structural guess
- Steel tension and compression ring structure supporting the glass dome, with cantilevered concrete and steel ramps.
- Spatial scale
- Monumental public scale, accommodating dozens of visitors simultaneously across multiple levels of the ramp.
- Lighting
- Bright, diffused daylight floods the interior through the fully glazed dome, with reflections bouncing off the central mirrored cone.
- Atmosphere
- A dynamic, airy, and democratic atmosphere where public movement is celebrated through light and transparency.
- Environmental context
- Located atop a historic stone building, offering elevated views of the Berlin urban landscape.
- Spatial experience
- Visitors ascend along a continuous, suspended ramp, experiencing panoramic views of the city outside and the parliamentary chamber below, while being bathed in natural light.
- Composition rhythm
- The repeating vertical steel ribs of the dome contrast with the sweeping, continuous curves of the ascending ramps.
- Style reading
- High-Tech / Structural Expressionism
- Program
- Government / Public Observatory
- Perspective
- Interior Spatial
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- steel, glass, concrete, mirror
- Visual identifiers
- helical-ramp, glass-dome, mirrored-cone, reichstag-dome, norman-foster
- Style tags
- high-tech, structural-expressionism, contemporary
- Visual tags
- high-tech, public-space, daylighting, panoramic-view, helical-circulation, historic-intervention
- Geometry
- A soaring, double-helical ramp system wraps around a central, tapered cone clad in mirrored panels, all enclosed within a lightweight steel-and-glass dome structure.
- Facade system
- Steel-framed glazed dome structure.
- Structural guess
- Steel tension and compression ring structure supporting the glass dome, with cantilevered concrete and steel ramps.
- Spatial scale
- Monumental public scale, accommodating dozens of visitors simultaneously across multiple levels of the ramp.
- Lighting
- Bright, diffused daylight floods the interior through the fully glazed dome, with reflections bouncing off the central mirrored cone.
- Atmosphere
- A dynamic, airy, and democratic atmosphere where public movement is celebrated through light and transparency.
- Environmental context
- Located atop a historic stone building, offering elevated views of the Berlin urban landscape.
- Spatial experience
- Visitors ascend along a continuous, suspended ramp, experiencing panoramic views of the city outside and the parliamentary chamber below, while being bathed in natural light.
- Composition rhythm
- The repeating vertical steel ribs of the dome contrast with the sweeping, continuous curves of the ascending ramps.
- Style reading
- High-Tech / Structural Expressionism
- Program
- Government / Public Observatory
- Perspective
- Interior Spatial
- Discipline
- architecture