3 – 2011

et cetera Diener & Diener

The fact that most of the contributions in this et cetera issue are devoted to conversions, adaptations, replacements, extensions and reuse is, as so often the case, a matter of chance – and yet not entirely so. Building commissions with this background form part of the everyday working world of Central European architects’ practices. Over the decades collective experience has been built up which can certainly be described as fully developed. Yet a sense of repetitive routine has not arisen, as each task and the ensuing architectural response bring with it new surprises. In Berlin, where the examination of the built inheritance from the imperial era regularly provides material for discussions, Diener & Diener have impressively demonstrated their well-known qualities as regards profound reading of a building and a careful, yet relaxed reaction to it. In rebuilding the east wing of the Natural History Museum they have used prefabricated elements cast in artificial stone to link the historic façade with the new building in a most direct way. Here Diener & Diener have made an important contribution to a debate at times is conducted with such acrimony that one might occasionally be led to believe it has lost sight of the original theme.