Bunker (Berlin)
Encyclopedia
The Bunker in Berlin-Mitte is a listed air-raid shelter
.
Originally based on plans of the architect Karl Bonatz, it was constructed in 1943 by Nazi Germany
to shelter up to 3,000 Reichsbahn
train passengers. The square building has an area of 1000 m² and is 18 metres high; its walls are up to two metres thick. There are 120 rooms on five floors. In May 1945 the Red Army
took the building and turned it into a prisoner-of-war camp
. From 1949 it was used to store textiles and from 1957 as storage for dry and tropical fruit.
In the summer of 1992 it was turned into a hardcore techno
club. Gabba
, hard trance
, house
and breakbeat
parties were held on four floors. However, after a raid in 1995 the events became more irregular. A further raid in 1996 placed severe building restrictions on the tenants, causing the club to close.
In 2001, real estate investor Nippon Development Corporation GmbH bought the building from the government. In 2002, it was the venue of the Berlin art festival "Insideout".
in 2003. He subsequently had architects Jens Casper and Petra Petersson convert the building into a 32000 square feet (2,972.9 m²) exhibition space and build a 4800 square feet (445.9 m²) glass-walled penthouse
on the roof. The renovation work was finished in 2007. The first permanent exhibition opened in 2008, featuring selected sculptures, installations, and light and performance works by, among others, Olafur Eliasson
, Elmgreen and Dragset
, Robert Kusmirowski
, Sarah Lucas
, Tobias Rehberger, Anselm Reyle
, Monika Sosnowska
, Santiago Sierra
, and Rirkrit Tiravanija
.
Air-raid shelter
Air-raid shelters, also known as bomb shelters, are structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks from the air...
.
Originally based on plans of the architect Karl Bonatz, it was constructed in 1943 by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
to shelter up to 3,000 Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft
The Deutsche Reichsbahn – was the name of the German national railway created from the railways of the individual states of the German Empire following the end of World War I....
train passengers. The square building has an area of 1000 m² and is 18 metres high; its walls are up to two metres thick. There are 120 rooms on five floors. In May 1945 the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
took the building and turned it into a prisoner-of-war camp
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
. From 1949 it was used to store textiles and from 1957 as storage for dry and tropical fruit.
In the summer of 1992 it was turned into a hardcore techno
Hardcore techno
Hardcore techno is a type of electronic music typified by the rhythmic use of distorted and atonal industrial-like beats and samples...
club. Gabba
Gabber
Gabber , is a style of electronic music and a subgenre of hardcore techno. "Gabber" is a slang word of Yiddish origin that means "mate", "buddy" or "friend"....
, hard trance
Hard trance
Hard trance is a subgenre of trance music that originated in Western Europe in the mid-1990s as the breakbeat hardcore production community began to diversify into new and different styles of electronic music, all influenced by UK hard house, happy hardcore and jungle/drum & bass...
, house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
parties were held on four floors. However, after a raid in 1995 the events became more irregular. A further raid in 1996 placed severe building restrictions on the tenants, causing the club to close.
In 2001, real estate investor Nippon Development Corporation GmbH bought the building from the government. In 2002, it was the venue of the Berlin art festival "Insideout".
Boros Collection
Christian Boros purchased the bunker for his private collection of contemporary artContemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
in 2003. He subsequently had architects Jens Casper and Petra Petersson convert the building into a 32000 square feet (2,972.9 m²) exhibition space and build a 4800 square feet (445.9 m²) glass-walled penthouse
Penthouse apartment
A penthouse apartment or penthouse is an apartment that is on one of the highest floors of an apartment building. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features.-History:...
on the roof. The renovation work was finished in 2007. The first permanent exhibition opened in 2008, featuring selected sculptures, installations, and light and performance works by, among others, Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson
Olafur Eliasson is a Danish-Icelandic artist known for sculptures and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer’s experience. In 1995 he established Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin, a laboratory for spatial research...
, Elmgreen and Dragset
Elmgreen and Dragset
Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset are artist-collaborators since 1995 and their work explores the relationship between art, architecture and design....
, Robert Kusmirowski
Robert Kuśmirowski
Robert Kuśmirowski , is a Polish contemporary artist whose work includes sculpture, installations, performance and photography. His work uses reconstruction of historical artefacts and settings to examine and manipulate historical themes...
, Sarah Lucas
Sarah Lucas
Sarah Lucas is an English artist. She is part of the generation of Young British Artists who emerged during the 1990s...
, Tobias Rehberger, Anselm Reyle
Anselm Reyle
Anselm Reyle is an artist based in Berlin. He is known for his often large-scale abstract paintings and found-object sculptures.-Biography:...
, Monika Sosnowska
Monika Sosnowska
Monika Sosnowska was born 1972 in Ryki, Poland. She studied at the Painting Department of the , and the in Amsterdam Monika Sosnowska was born 1972 in Ryki, Poland. She studied at the Painting Department of the (1993–1998), and the in Amsterdam Monika Sosnowska was born 1972 in Ryki, Poland....
, Santiago Sierra
Santiago Sierra
Santiago Sierra is a Spanish artist. He lives in Madrid.Sierra's most well-known works involve hired laborers completing menial tasks...
, and Rirkrit Tiravanija
Rirkrit Tiravanija
Rirkrit Tiravanija is a contemporary artist residing in New York. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1961. His installations often take the form of stages or rooms for sharing meals, cooking, reading or playing music; architecture or structures for living and socializing are a core element...
.