The exhibition project Berlin Plans. Hour Zero at the New Berlin Art Association (n.b.k.) reconstructs and contextualizes the historic exhibition Berlin Plans – First Report, which in 1946 presented the so-called Collective Plan for Berlin's postwar reconstruction to the general public in the provisionally adapted White Hall of Berlin Palace. On the occasion of its 80th anniversary, the exhibition explores the contemporary relevance of this radical urban design concept. The planning collective responsible included City Architect Hans Scharoun, Wils Ebert, Peter Friedrich, Ludmilla Herzenstein, Reinhold Lingner, and Herbert Weinberger.

The n.b.k. commemorates this historic exhibition, which anticipated pioneering ecological building principles and pursued participatory approaches, through a walk-through reconstruction at 1:4 scale. The presentation includes previously unpublished original plans and archival materials, while also reflecting on the varied historical reception of the Collective Plan—ranging from rejection and suppression to lasting influence. Beyond this, the project engages with the contested discourse surrounding "Hour Zero." This ambiguous term encompasses both the unconditional surrender and the total economic and moral collapse of Nazi Germany in 1945, as well as the hoped-for new beginning free from the burdens of the past.

Alongside the exhibition, the n.b.k. presents a film program featuring "rubble films" in cooperation with Babylon cinema. Additionally, an all-day symposium will take place on June 20 at the silent green Kulturquartier.

www.nbk.org