Bundeskanzleramt Bonn, Federal government building in Gronau, Germany
Bundeskanzleramt Bonn is a federal government building located in the Gronau district of Bonn, Germany. The modernist complex spans more than ten hectares and features two interior courtyards along with dark bronze aluminum curtain walls.
From 1976 to 1999, the complex served as the central administrative office for German chancellors Helmut Schmidt, Helmut Kohl, and Gerhard Schröder. After the government relocated to Berlin, the building became the second official seat of the Federal Chancellery.
The forecourt was redesigned in 1979 under Helmut Schmidt, who had a large lawn laid out and Henry Moore's sculpture Large Two Forms placed on it; it is now a protected monument. In May 1982 a bust of Konrad Adenauer was erected on Bundeskanzlerplatz outside the grounds and became a symbol of the Bonn Republic. The site is a stop on the Weg der Demokratie history trail.
The complex has three upper storeys and two basement levels, with a steel skeleton frame and only six concrete cores as fixed points, so interior walls can be rearranged. The main entrance faces the Rhine on the east side; the smaller Chancellery and Cabinet Building has its own entrance to the north. The building now houses the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and is not normally open to the public.
The building's steel skeleton rests on just six concrete cores, with variable walls allowing offices to be reconfigured. Helmut Schmidt, its first occupant, reportedly said it had the "charm of a Rhineland savings bank". The forecourt was reshaped in 1979 around Henry Moore's sculpture Large Two Forms.
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