The reconstruction of Neues Museum on Museum Island in Berlin has won the 2010 DAM Prize for Architecture in Germany. The outstanding structure by David Chipperfield Architects (Berlin), in collaboration with Julian Harrap (London), impressed the jury in particular with the sensitive manner in which it dealt with the damaged historical edifice and the high standard of cutting-edge design.

In the words of the jury: “Neues Museum by David Chipperfield Architects has set high new standards for the restoration of important structures.” With this reconstruction, the architects succeeded in creating “a powerful architectural dialectic between the damaged historical edifice and a forward-looking intervention. The beauty of this creative reconstruction lies in the respect for what history has instilled in the building. It is a structure of delicate scar tissue, of artistic seams that patch the manifold wounds of the past and bold cuts that define and clarify anew.”

David Chipperfield Architects was founded in 1984. The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, represented by the Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung (Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning), acted as the developer in the reconstruction of Neues Museum, which was commissioned in 2009. The Berlin branch of Chipperfield Architects which is run by Christoph Felger, Harald Müller, Mark Randel, Martin Reichert, Eva Schad and Alexander Schwarz, and which, with a total of 150 employees is the largest of the four Chipperfield offices (the others are in London, Milan and Shanghai), constantly draws attention with its outstanding works. In recent years these included the Literaturmuseum der Moderne in Marbach, the Empire Riverside Hotel in Hamburg, and the Folkwang Museum in Essen.

The jury, which comprised 11 members – curators, architects, architecture journalists – and was chaired by Peter Cachola Schmal, Director of Deutsches Architekturmuseum, selected the reconstruction of Neues Museum in Berlin from 23 nominated projects. The winner and nominees will be presented in the 2010/11 Deutsches Architektur Annual, which was published by Prestel in Munich in time for the 2010 Frankfurt Book Fair. The British photographer Hélène Binet portrayed this outstanding building by David Chipperfield Architects (Berlin) especially for the Annual.
The official award ceremony will take place on January 28, 2011 at the official opening of the exhibition “DAM Preis für Architektur in Deutschland 2010. Die 23 besten Projekte in/aus Deutschland” (2010 DAM Prize for Architecture in Germany. The 23 best projects in/from Germany).