Norman Foster - The Reichstag

The transformation of the Reichstag is rooted in four related issues: the Bundestag's significance as a democratic forum, an understanding of history, 

a commitment to accessibility 

and a vigorous environmental agenda. As found, the Reichstag was mutilated by war and insensitive rebuilding. The reconstruction takes cues from the original fabric; the layers of history were peeled away to reveal striking imprints of the past - stonemason's marks and Russian graffiti − scars that have been preserved as a 'living museum'. But in other respects it is a radical departure; within its heavy shell it is light and transparent, 

its activities on view.

Public and politicians enter the building together and the public realm continues on the roof in the terrace restaurant and in the cupola, where ramps lead to an observation platform, allowing people to ascend symbolically above the heads of their representatives in the chamber

The cupola is now an established Berlin landmark. Symbolic of rebirth, it also drives the building's natural lighting and ventilation strategies. At its core is a 'light sculptor' that reflects horizon light down into the chamber, while a sun-shield tracks the path of the sun to block solar gain and glare. As night falls, this process is reversed - the cupola becomes a beacon on the skyline, signalling the vigour of the German democratic process.

The building provides a model for sustainability by burning renewable bio-fuel - refined vegetable oil − in a cogenerator to produce electricity: a system that is far cleaner than burning fossil fuels. The result is a 94 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
Surplus heat is stored as hot water in an aquifer deep below ground and can be pumped up to heat the building or to drive an absorption cooling plant to produce chilled water. Significantly, the building's energy requirements are modest enough to allow it to produce more energy than it consumes and to perform as a mini power station in the new government quarter.

^Description of Reichstag dome - from Foster + Partners website

“I believed that if we were to introduce a symbolically resonant structure that would signal the changed use of the building then that structure should also be an integral part of the buildings ecology.”
Norman Foster

“The new, renovated Reichstag is something of magnificent fishbowl, and a light, elegant contrast to its heavy container ... It is a convincing expression of the new German democracy.”
Charles Jencks, World of Interiors, August 1999

“Norman Foster ha successfully connected new and old, past and present so that the Reichstag’s new interiors meet our expectations of this epic building, but at the same time are welcoming not forbidding.”
Wolfgang Thierse

“The main impression one has of this revamped monument is space; volumes of the valuable stuff, stretching upwards and outwards in every direction. Space and light.”
Jonathan Glancey. The Guardian, 19 April 1999

“Instead of being a labyrinth of corridors and smoke-filled rooms, parliament has become as transparent as a goldfish bowl.”
Max Davidson, The Sunday Telegraph, 16 May 1999

^Quotes from the Foster + Partners website - in relation to the Reichstage dome - http://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/reichstag-new-german-parliament/