Message by Kai Wegner

In 2024, the Architekten- und Ingenieurverein Berlin-Brandenburg (AIV) is celebrating the 200th anniversary of its founding. Congratulations on this more than impressive accomplishment. 

Berlin owes a great deal to the AIV. Its members – including internationally renowned experts in their fields such as Karl Friedrich Schinkel, James Hobrecht, and Walter Gropius – played a fundamental part in determining our city’s appearance. The AIV members who followed them have made and continue to make significant contributions to the planning and design of our infrastructure. Creative architects, civil engineers, urban planners, and landscape architects from the AIV have designed, renovated, and remodeled many of Berlin’s 9,500 streets, 1,100 bridges, and 200 public squares. And they are still doing so today. All AIV members are guided by the idea that streets, bridges, and public spaces represent “a pure form of human cultural space” and reflect a city in “its transformation, evolution, and vision.” 

The AIV’s exhibition “immer modern! Berlin and its Streets“ illuminates this topic. From 5 September to 30 November 2024, visitors to the outdoor exhibition along the grand boulevard Unter den Linden can experience the exciting history of Berlin’s streets over the last 200 years. What’s more, they can get a glimpse of the future: interdisciplinary planning teams are presenting ten visions for different streets inside and outside the S-Bahn ring that would specifically benefit from intelligent modernization.

As the Governing Mayor, I know that policymaking relies on external expertise – particularly in areas such as the planning of streets, bridges, and public spaces. For this reason, I am happy to serve as the honorary sponsor of the AIV’s outdoor exhibition and have relied on the experience and expertise of AIV members for our new law to encourage faster construction in Berlin.

I hope that all the visitors to the exhibition find it enjoyable and inspiring. And we encourage you to think about and debate the ideas presented. The views of everyone living in Berlin are especially welcome. After all, it’s a question of our future living conditions and the quality of life in our city – so the opinions of Berliners are particularly relevant.