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Future of the Cultural Forum: Discourse on Berlin's architectural heritage!
On November 4, 2025, the discussion “Young, but Monument” will take place at the Cultural Forum in Berlin, focusing on its future and repair.
Future of the Cultural Forum: Discourse on Berlin's architectural heritage!
Today, November 4th, 2025, the event “Young, but Monument: Cultural Forum” will take place in the Berlin Cultural Forum. This event addresses the rich history of the place and discusses future-oriented perspectives. The West Berlin Cultural Forum, an important example of post-war modernism, was designed in the post-war period with loosely grouped large buildings and extensive open spaces. The architectural icons include the Philharmonic Hall by Hans Scharoun, the State Library and the New National Gallery by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
However, the cultural forum remained unfinished and is at the center of many urban development discourses. A consensus plan for further development is currently being drawn up to give the site a new identity. The general renovation of the State Library, which is the next major construction site, will be given particular attention.
Event details
The event is organized by the Berlin State Monuments Office and the Berlin Chamber of Architects in cooperation with Urania Berlin. Christoph Rauhut, the state curator and director of the Berlin State Monuments Office, will give an introduction. Top-class experts will be represented on the podium: Petra Kahlfeldt, the Senate Building Director, Katja Erke, landscape architect, Achim Bonte, General Director of the Berlin State Library, Stephan Schütz, Executive Partner of gmp, and Jürgen Tietz, architectural historian.
The discussion will be moderated by Verena Pfeiffer-Kloss, an architectural historian. The aim of this event is to explore the future of the Cultural Forum and to shed light on the challenges and opportunities facing this important urban space.
Looking back at previous events
Numerous similar events have taken place in the past, including the “Young, but Monument” event that took place on December 9, 2020 at the International Congress Center (ICC) Berlin. The ICC, which is an impressive size of over 300 meters long, 80 meters wide and 40 meters high, could accommodate up to 20,000 people and housed 80 halls. The event addressed the importance of the ICC as a former “showcase of the West” and landmark of West Berlin.
Here too, an important building of high-tech architecture by Ralf Student and Ursulina Student-Witte was brought into focus. The event included an introduction by Ursulina Student-Witte and Dr. Christoph Rauhut as well as a discussion about future possible uses, in which prominent architects and decision-makers such as Barbro Dreher and Christine Edmaier took part. These reviews of past discussions and the continuation of the dialogue through the Cultural Forum illustrate the importance of preserving and further developing important architectural sites in Berlin.
The event “Young, but Monument: Cultural Forum” is a further step taken to explore the complex topics of architecture and monument preservation in the capital, and at the same time shows the commitment of the city of Berlin to preserving its architectural treasures and making them fit for the future. This insightful discussion will certainly attract both architects and those interested in architecture and encourage them to engage with Berlin's cultural identity.