Background
In the center of Berlin on the Museum Island, a very special cultural center has been built: the Humboldt Forum. It's located in the Berlin Palace, which was built at the beginning of the 18th century as one of the most important secular Baroque buildings and is now getting revitalized. This has also an impact on the city of Berlin - the Berlin Cathedral and the Altes Museum at the Lustgarten as well as the Boulevard Unter den Linden will re-gain their urban orientation.
But in contrast to the former function when the Berlin Palace was a symbol for military power and Roman-influenced autocratic architecture, it will now represent a whole new idea:
The Humboldt Forum is conceptualized as a venue for culture and dialogue that spans the globe. The comprehensive programme of exhibitions and events offers visitors an opportunity to experience the world in its entirety and informs about culture and science. The concept of Humboldt Forum creates spaces for encounters and exchange.
From 2019 on, permanent exhibitions of the Ethnological Museum (Ethnologisches Museum) and the Museum of Asian Art (Museum für Asiatische Kunst), the Berlin Exhibition and the Humboldt Laboratory as well as exceptional temporary exhibitions will move into the Berlin Palace.
With this comprehensive programme, the Humboldt Forum attracts very different types of visitors who will move within the Berlin Palace in different ways.
Goal of the simulation
accu:rate was commissioned by the Humboldt Forum Foundation with a visitor flow analysis to answer the following questions:
- Is the Humboldt Forum designed such that all visitor groups enjoy their visit?
- Which types of visitor groups will be in the Humboldt Forum at the same time? How will they move through the building?
- Are the service facilities (wardrobe, restrooms, counters etc.) planned sufficiently for the expected number of visitors?
Scope of consideration
- Definition of parameters with THEMATA, which are included in the analysis. These include, for example, the definition of different groups of visitors with different goals within the Berlin Palace, their movement patterns within the building or their length of stay.
- Investigation of operational aspects such as opening hours and frequency of service areas in order to be able to draw conclusions about the peak hour.
Results
On the basis of the simulation results, recommendations were worked out on how the building could be designed even more optimally for different visitor groups. Furthermore, the visualization of the visitor flows could provide insights into the capacity limits of the building and bottlenecks on each floor.
Image sources:
Fig.1: The east facade in Septemer 2016. Stephan Falk / Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss.
Fig.2: Das Eingangsfoyer Franco Stellas unter der Kuppel im Berliner Schloss, mit dem historischen Innenportal III Eosanders im Jahr 2019, Förderverein Berliner Schloss e.V.
Titel image: Modell des Berliner Schlosses, Förderverein Berliner Schloss e.V.
Project picture: Förderverein Berliner Schloss e.V.