Urban Form and Great Projects in Berlin

In the last decade of the 20th century, major changes have defined the image of Berlin as the new Capital of reunited Germany. At the level of the metropolis, the first regional plan of Berlin and Brandenburg, to preserve from peripheral sprawl, has followed a pattern of polycentric expansion, structured upon the develompment of the railway network. Meanwhile, in the inner city grat urban projects have been carried out often resorting to international competitions. Such projects are characterized by a strong individual mark, according to two juxtaposed cultural positions: the "internationalist" one, leaning towards hi-tech solutions and spectacular architecture, and the one inspired by the theory of "critical reconstruction", based upon the re-proposal (sometimes literally) of urban forms belonging to the historical city