Should a building be destroyed because of its links to the Nazi era? It's true that Nazi-era architecture left much to be desired in terms of aesthetics but razing the building sounds so extreme. The building in question was built decades before Hitler and Mussolini and the symbols of Nazi Germany were removed in 1945. As unattractive as it may be, it also represents a certain era of design. Personally I enjoy seeing different eras in a city and don't have to see only one look.
When I am working in London, I often stay in a neighborhood (Lancaster Gate) that has a fairly consistent look except for a handful of buildings that were obviously slapped up post-WWII. (I've always assumed the originals were destroyed during the war.) They all have that typical post war look (that you might also find in parts of DC from the same era) but that's fine. Leveling a building for the sake of leveling a building sounds a bit extreme. Besides, leveling the building is not going to change the history that everyone already knows.
The call for the pavilion's demolition has come from the German architect, Arno Sighard Schmid, the influential president of the Federal Chamber of German Architects. "The pavilion is neither suitable for art, nor architecture," he declared in a recent interview. "It has no connection with the Venetian skyline," he added, insisting that the structure be torn down.
Mr Schmid's calls have since been echoed by a number of leading German architects and artists. Werner Schaub, the chairman of Germany's creative artist's association, wants the pavilion to be rebuilt. "One does not have to hang on to everything just because it's old," he said, arguing that the building was problematic because of its Nazi history and its internal design, which made it difficult to use as a place to exhibit art. "It would be good to knock it down and start again," he said.
German Biennale artists have also thrown their weight behind the demolition campaign. "It is one of the nastiest clichés about Germany around," an artist, Tino Sehgal, told Germany's 3Sat television channel. "It creates an image of Germany that has nothing to do with the reality of today."
