POSTCARD FROM BERLIN Dear ArchitectureWeek, The SOLON factory and headquarters building on the outskirts of Berlin, by local firm Schulte-Frohlinde Architekten, seems to embody a green golden moment for the German startup company specializing in efficient assembly of photovoltaic cells into modular solar panels. — Published 2011.0112
	ULM MÜNSTERPLATZ Just over 100 miles (170 kilometers) from Freiburg, Germany, the city of Ulm straddles the banks of the Danube River, and although the two cities' cathedral squares — Münsterplätze — have slightly different birthdates, they are virtual twins. They grew up over the same five-and-a-half centuries, only to be laid low in the same bombing raids of 1944. — Published 2010.0929
	POSTCARD FROM FRANKFURT Dear ArchitectureWeek, The Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency isn't just for houses. This we learned in Germany recently, on a fascinating tour of green building and design there, organized by the Ecologic Institute environmental think tank with funding from the German government. — Published 2010.0428
	KOLUMBA ART MUSEUM In Cologne, Germany, a city ravaged by World War II, the Kolumba Art Museum embraces and preserves centuries of culture and pays poetic tribute to the layers of civilization unearthed on its site. Designed by reclusive Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, the museum provides a stunning exception to the city's drab urban landscape built after the war. — Published 2009.0107
	COOP HIMMELB(L)AU'S BMW WORLD Like its competitors, BMW knows that cool sells. And there is no doubt that BMW Welt — the German motor company's new sales, exhibition, and event center in Munich — is cool. — Published 2008.0416
	DETAILING THE SOBEK HOUSE The glass-and-steel R128 House is located on a steeply sloped site with panoramic views of Stuttgart, Germany. Although this house seems sterile and completely transparent, it is a home where comfort and privacy issues for the inhabitants have been met. It is a completely recyclable, emission-free, energy self-sufficient building. — Published 2008.0319
	DAVID CHIPPERFIELD STIRLING PRIZE The Stirling Prize for 2007 has been awarded to the Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach am Neckar, Germany, designed by David Chipperfield Architects. With a spare colonnade around its boxy, minimalist form, the Museum (Literaturmuseum der Moderne) is something of a neoclassical Parthenon, helping the larger cluster of buildings — which also includes the National Schiller Museum (1903) and the Archive for German Literature (1970s) — come together as a seeming Acropolis atop its ridge overlooking the River Neckar. — Published 2007.1010
	BEAUTIFUL PARKING Once upon a time the parking garage was created as a dark place filled with sinister shadows and exhaust fumes. But it doesn't have to be that way. Over the past few years some of the best parking garages have been designed and constructed to be more like parking palaces, as architects focus their design creativity on making the inner-city garage an aesthetic contributor to our urban experience. — Published 2006.1115
	BERLIN CENTRAL STATION The new Berlin Hauptbahnhof designed by von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp) is Europe's largest and newest train station — a large "cathedral" of glass and steel. Linking major lines from all directions, the Berlin Central Station has been on the boards for 11 years, but with typical German efficiency, was completed within two weeks of the 2006 World Cup games. Yet one could say that the station had been in the planning stages for nearly a century. — Published 2006.1108
	MERCEDES-BENZ BUILDING With the bulging prow of its aluminum and glass skeleton looming beside the fast lanes of Highway B14 in Stuttgart, Germany, the new Mercedes-Benz Museum lives up to the German automaker's refined engineering image. On entering the structure designed by the Dutch firm UN Studio, visitors ascend eight stories to the top, then wind down twin ramps through a collection of 160 vehicles displayed over 178,000 square feet (16,500 square meters) of exhibition space. — Published 2006.0830

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