The Washing Machine
The new Chancellery built by Berlin-based architects Axel Schultes and Charlotte Frank has a striking design including the surrounding complex of buildings. The Chancellery is among the most notable structures of the German government quarters and is the most massive government office in the world – eight times bigger than the White House in Washington.
The German government district is situated along the River Spree in Berlin. The Chancellery was constructed in between 1997 and 2001 and comprises a nine-story building, with two administrative wings. Everything is integrated into a 102-meter-wide row of federal buildings. This complex is known as “Band des Bundes” linking the east and west of the city. The Chancellery’s most impressive feature is a semi-circular window opening in the upper glass façade. This round opening, which is 18 meters high, looks for many like a washing machine door, and as Berliner are very fast in wording their opinion, it has been nicknamed the “washing machine.”