In 1937 Hitler’s architect Albert Speer was given the task of transforming Berlin from a sprawling metropolis into ‘Germania’, the gleaming new capital of a Greater German ‘World Empire’, the centrepiece of the civilised world. In Hitler's own words, Germania would "only be comparable with ancient Egypt, Babylon or Rome. What is London, what is Paris by comparison!"
The Olympic Stadium for the 1936 Summer Olympics was to be the first step in the construction of Germania, followed by The Arch of Triumph, The Avenue of Splendours and the large domed structure,'The People's Hall'. Designed by Hitler himself, it would have been the largest structure of its type in the world, capable of holding 180.000 people.
This model, set on a circular base- an adaptation of Albert Speer's, was made for the exhibition ‘Nga Mahi Whakatekteka’ at The Jonathan Smart Gallery. The work draws a parallel between the bureaucratic Germany of 1937 and post earthquake Christchurch. It challenges notions about ‘blueprints’, ‘precincts’, top-down / government driven models of plannng and redevelopment - in pursuit of a Utopian ideal.