The Neue National Gallery in Berlin was designed by Mies van der Rohe. Built in 1968, it is a jump from the traditional museum concept of a closed building with exhibition rooms. Instead it is an open plan, flexible space. With only two steel columns on each side, the corners are ‘free’, giving the building a lightweight look.

The gallery was the first building completed as part of a cluster of buildings dedicated to culture and the fine arts. It is often said that the building is a work of art in itself. The unusual natural illumination in the building, coming from around and below the viewer rather than above, has the effect of shocking the viewer out of their usual way of seeing and encouraging visitors to bring a fresh eye to the art.

The upper level is mainly used for special exhibits, for example, large scale sculptures or paintings. The vast lower level has space for themed shows, and contains shops, a café, and the museum’s permanent collection, which ranges from early modern art to art of the 1960s. The podium roof plaza is an open air gallery for public sculpture.

On request, guests may enter the garden to see figurative and abstract sculptures on display there. Special exhibits are attended by specially trained, very personable staff, who field questions, explains the exhibits, and enthuse about their favourite works.