The James Simon Gallery is named after the turn-of-the-century entrepreneur and philanthropist who gave the Berlin State Museums many of their masterpieces, including the famous bust of Nefertiti and other finds from Amarna. Simon's role in the formation of their collections corresponds to the position of “his” building: the gallery forms the southwestern front of the Museum Island, but most importantly, it serves as its main lobby. This structure was conceived back in the late 1990s, at the stage of the competition for the masterplan for the reconstruction of the ensemble of museums, which was won by David Chipperfield.
Along with
An archaeological promenade linking four of the island's five museum buildings underground, the Simon Gallery serves as the frame for this masterplan. It is connected to the Pergamon Museum above ground, and with the promenade - at the minus one level. The gallery contains a large-scale lobby with a cafe and a large open terrace; below, on the mezzanine floor, there is a museum store, a cloakroom, a left-luggage office and toilets; underground - space for temporary exhibitions and an auditorium for 300 spectators.
All this is designed for a large flow of visitors, but no less important is another function of the building, which Chipperfield called "the responsibility of a public building in the heart of a big city." The gallery overlooks the Kupfergraben canal, the Lustgarten park and the Palace Bridge with a high plinth and a colonnade above it. The artificial and natural stone cladding refers to the historical buildings of the center of Berlin, and the language of architecture - to the surrounding buildings of Schinkel and Stühler. It physically continues the colonnade of Stühler, which he brought to the New Museum, and in terms of meaning, it develops the theme of the classical public space, open to the citizens of the Prussian Acropolis, laid down then, in the 19th century. The main level of the gallery will be available to everyone at any time of the day, which emphasizes the role of the Museum Island not as a tourist attraction with the status of a UNESCO site, but as a full-fledged part of one of the most vibrant capitals in Europe.
The James Simon Gallery has been officially handed over to the Berlin authorities; finishing work is currently underway in its interiors, which will end in the summer of 2019 - when it is opened to the public.
