PALAIS BARBERINI

THE PROJECT AND ITS REQUIREMENTS

The three-storey, neoclassical baroque Palais Barberini is one of Potsdam‘s most beautiful buildings and resembles the Palazzo Barberini in Rome, on which it is based.
The Palais has established itself as an international art museum and serves as a place of cultural encounters and education. The building encompasses 17 halls on an area of 2200 m². The 48 metre-wide main façade, which is made of Elbe sandstone, was reconstructed as an exact replica of the original in a traditional manner.
In the interior, the concrete columns were provided with a special substructure for the plaster on account of the entasis. The column rows line up slightly towards the middle. The high-class materials used give the exhibition rooms a suitable ambience.

THE SOLUTION

The imposing structure places particularly high demands on the installed components. Large sliding distances of up to 75 cm have to be absorbed by the Calenberg Ciparall sliding bearings that were installed. The very low coefficients of friction allow virtually frictionless sliding of the supported components. In turn, this takes a considerable load off the substructure in the shear direction, enabling a delicate and economical construction and keeping the building free from damage.