The Legacy of Mies van der Rohe through the Restoration of the Neue Nationalgalerie

The slogan "As much Mies as possible" marks in the 2015 the beginning of a five-year project of refurbishment and modernization of the Neue Nationalgalerie. Opened in 1968, the modern temple is considered an icon of the 20th century and part of the legacy of Mies van der Rohe. Although the intervention confirms the continuity of original use and the image of the icon, it imposes on the monument some transformations that are incompatible with the preservation of its material meanings and values. Almost 50 years after its construction, the building showed some physiological decay; however, the architecture has been considered obsolete due to the changing standards of use and comfort of an international art gallery affected by a growing influx of visitors. The paper investigates the future of the Mies’s legacy moving from some open issues of the intervention carried out by David Chipperfield with the supervision of the BBR. The refurbishment (neither restoration, nor preservation according to the architect) is pursuing the modernization of the building, but trying to match the historical values with the requirements of climate control and safety. Among the most incisive outcomes are the replacement of the glass walls, the improvement of the structural performances of the façade and the extension of deposit volumes in the basement (even if the excavation doesn’t modify the external perception of the monument). On the other hand, must be highlighted the exact reproduction of the surfaces of the ground floor. The design choices, although sometimes even denying Mies, state a real attention to the aging of the monument, defining a more critical approach than in previous interventions, like in the restoration of Crown Hall. The binomials memories/requirements and authenticity/form are at the base of this investigation. Such a “refurbishment” outline how new cultural and socio-economic needs confront themselves with respecting/reproducing the appearance of the monument and embody the complexity in managing the legacy of modernity.