Today I visited the fantastic Berliner Stadt Modelle, a 1:500 scale model of the city. It was especially brilliant to see this just days after seeing the Liverpool city centre model, again in 1:500 scale. This put into perspective just how big Berlin is, taking up a whole room. A separate, and perhaps even larger wall-mounted model of the city at 1:1000 scale was sadly absent, away in Cannes, though the purpose of this absence was not clear.
The model itself is predominantly white, using a similar level of detail on these parts as the Liverpool model. Again, newer additions to the city are rendered differently, though this time in wood, with a greater level of detail. Two more striking aspects of the model (apart from its enormous size) are the absence of any cars or people, and the trees, a simplified and charming design which reminds me of animations for children.
It is worth noting that the Berlin model has its own dedicated space and surrounding exhibitions of town plans throughout the last century. Staff are also on hand to answer questions for the public, and when I arrived there seemed to be a small guided tour taking place. I have started to think more about where and how these models are exhibited and how this has an impact on their purpose and who gets to see them.
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