Opened in 1979 the ICC Berlin is a Brutalist building in Charlottenburg Berlin. Designed by Ursulina Schüler-Witte and Ralf Schüler the convention center became a part West Berlin’s architectural heritage.
I have been in the ICC several times attending a congress for the ITB or IFA, even managing to see two or three of its 80 meeting rooms. The 924 million DM (450 million euros) building is capable of holding 20.000 people over 213.000 square meters. A space station characteristic would be an apt description for the interior.
Every corner and inch of this impressive structure has a design detail. Witte and Shüler’s work is a modern masterpiece, functional on a grand scale.
In 2014 the International Congress Center Berlin was closed because it had outlived its usefulness, times had changed. The Messe Berlin built other halls more suitable, with much less style, for trade fairs and congress. Once a marvel of design and details, the ICCB fell silent, neglected, a sad relic, used only as a Refugee and a COVID Vaccine Center over the last eleven years.
For the Open Monument Weekend Event in Berlin, I returned to the center for the first time in years but this time as an explorer. For 90 minutes I walked around as if landing on an unexplored planet. The 39.000 reported visitors waited in 30 min long lines to enter the building. The Star Trek Sala feels like a sci-fi movie set. Stepping inside the conference room one had the feeling Mr. Spock could be sitting on the right side.
In 2025, there is hope the ICC Berlin will be used again as a new space. Currently the city is taking bids to repurpose the enormous space.
Fingers crossed. It is a shame to keep this uniquely beautiful ICC Berlin closed.