60 years DETAIL Plenary Hall in Bonn
- Jakob Schoof
For the architects, it was a success despite all odds. The planning history of the Behnisch building shows that even 30 years ago, building for the public sector required a great deal of patience and perseverance. It also shows that how to deal with post-war modernist structures was already the subject of heated debate in the 1980s. The transparent plenary hall is part of a nine-part building complex surrounding the Pedagogical Academy by the government architect Martin Witte, completed in 1933. In 1949, the German Basic Law was passed here and in the months that followed, Hans Schwippert expanded the building in record time to accommodate a legislative chamber. In the decades that followed, there was endless discussion about its restoration or demolition. In 1987, the decision was made to demolish the old legislative hall and replace it with a new building by Behnisch & Partner.
