Reconstruction of the Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany Available to Purchase

Construction engineers are increasingly faced with tasks in which a balance must be struck between historic structural designs and modern use requirements. Although they usually master these challenges, a thorough understanding of historic structures and conservation objectives is not widespread. However, such an understanding is key for proper handling of buildings with high conservation significance. In the case of the reconstruction of the Neues Museumin in Berlin, Germany, the most important responsibility of the engineers was to recognise, at an early stage, that purely theoretical approaches would not deliver the intended result and that all parties involved in the project needed to engage in the discussions, which also had to be facilitated. Key services to be provided included the development of verification concepts, planning and designing the required tests in a cross-disciplinary approach and coordinating the activities with the supervising authority.