Exhibition

„From the Reichstag to the Bundestag“, Reichstag Building Berlin

History in the handrail. Democracy in view.

The exhibition ‘From the Reichstag to the Bundestag’ is located on the roof terrace of the Reichstag building, directly below the dome. Embedded in the handrail of the central viewing opening with a view into the plenary hall, it is one of the most visited exhibitions in Germany, attracting several million visitors annually.

The display case in the handrail is a slanted, circular, continuous installation designed by Norman Foster. It forms a unique, spatially defined scenography and provides the setting for the presentation of the eventful history of the Reichstag building – today the heart of parliamentary democracy in Germany.

Our design concept translates this special architecture into the form of an open book. This creates a generous, exciting narrative structure within the twelve display cases, each with three segments. The static interruptions are overcome by the book's dramaturgy. Three-dimensional facsimiles, backlit image surfaces and monitors have been integrated. The graphics follow the curve of the display case and appear to be cast from a single mould. Lateral light strips and the nuanced colouring of the left and right ‘book pages’ reinforce the spatial depth and the interplay of the open pages.

A digital adaptation of the exhibition enables largely barrier-free access on site via tablets. In addition, the content is also publicly accessible via the German Bundestag website, independently of a visit to the Reichstag building.