The building was erected between 1877 and 1881 by the architects
Martin Gropius, a great uncle of
Walter Gropius, and Heino Schmieden in the
neo-Renaissance style. The building officially opened in 1881. The ground plan is quadratic (length of each side c. 70 m; building height c. 26 m). The exhibition rooms surround an imposing atrium decorated with mosaics and the
coats of arms of German states by sculptor
Otto Lessing. Originally designed to house Berlin's
Museum of Applied Arts, after
World War I the building housed Berlin's
Museum for Prehistory and Early History and the
East Asian Art Collection. It was severely damaged in 1945 during the last weeks of
World War II, and reopened in 1981 after post war reconstruction beginning in 1978. Further renovation took place in 1998/1999 resulting in what is often described as one of Germany's most beautiful historic exhibition buildings. Until
German reunification in 1990, the building stood on the border between
East and
West Berlin, at the boundary of the East Berlin district
Mitte. The Martin-Gropius-Bau has exhibited works by
Ai Weiwei,
Walker Evans,
Anish Kapoor,
Johannes Itten and
Paul Klee. ==Description==