Sculpture Garden, New National Gallery

The architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the lower floor of his New National Gallery, completed in 1968, so that it opens to the west into a sculpture garden that occupies the entire width. In doing so, he deliberately took up the sculpture garden of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which his student Philip Johnson had built in 1952-1954.

The 23-metre-long and 20-metre-wide area invites visitors to linger in the fresh air. The green area, which extends on both sides of the central water basin, is framed by a plant-covered wall. Here the visitor encounters sculptures that are loosely placed in the garden area. On display is a cross-section of European sculptures from the last century.

On display are works such as On the Beach (1968-1970) by Wilhelm Loth, Der Schrei (1963) Marino Marini, Raumschichtung 60/20 (1960) by Otto Herbert Hajek, Dolomit (1978) by Ulrich Rückriem, Punch (1966) by Bernhard Luginbühl, Maja (1942) by Gerhard Marcks, Träumende (1964) by Waldemar Grzimek, Der Herbst (1948) by Henri Laurens, Three Vertical Motifs (1966-1967) by Bernhard Heiliger, Great Laundress (1917-1918) by August Renoir, Great Striding Man I (1921) by Ernesto de Fiori, Bore XI 2-delig (1985) by Nikolaus Gerhart, Steel 4/63 (1963) by Erich Hauser, Great Neeberg Figure (1971-4) by Wieland Förster, and Africa IV (1962) by Matschinsky-Denninghoff.

After nearly 50 years of use, the Mies Building was renovated from 2015 to 2021. The office of David Chipperfield Architects was commissioned with the planning and implementation of the redevelopment measures. TOPOS Stadtplanung Landschaftsplanung Stadtforschung GbR, in cooperation with the David Chipperfield office, planned and supervised the garden monument preservation repair and restoration of the outdoor facilities.