The sky over Berlin – research in the restored former Industrial Safety Museum

Let us leave the museum and return to life as it really is: the former Industrial Safety Museum was restored with great efforts to offer additional space for research work with a great future. From 1903 onward the building which had been constructed in 1900 from glass and steel in the style of the English crystal palace tradition, presented the "Permanent Exhibition for Workers' Welfare". The intent of this exhibition then was an extremely topical one: the enhancement of safety and public health at the workplace. The show was always state-of-the-art and outdated objects were regularly exchanged in the first few years. In 1943, the building was destroyed in two war nights, and all exhibits were victim of the flames. Restored: Gallery in the former Industrial Safety Museum – today Hermann von Helmholtz Building   Restored: The former crane runway. After World War II the heavily damaged building fell into disrepair and only parts of it were still used. When in 1980 the neighbouring PTB bought the property and presented new plans for the use of the site, the municipality of Berlin became aware of this historical building in Charlottenburg and classified it as a historical monument. Alterations in the hall A laboratory building classified as a historical monument? The PTB risked the experiment! When it was restored in the last few years, it was seen to it that the spirit of the building was revived and that the space offered for modern research work could be optimally used also from the technical point of view. So the non-basement building was now provided with a basement to accommodate the necessary supply lines. A lecture hall with a representative gallery can be used for seminars and lectures, and always the sky over Berlin can be seen owing to the modern glass architecture. Before, wire-reinforced glass had obstructed the view. The cabins for biomagnetic measurements were constructed by the company Siemens Anlagenbau on behalf of the PTB. The restored building will be opened one of these days as the Hermann von Helmholtz Building.