Architect Peter Behren’s AEG Turbine Factory in Berlin, from 1909, is a canonical work of modern architecture, marking the moment when all the proprieties (structural, ornamental, linguistic) of classicism were loosened and fell away.  One afternoon I made a pilgrimage to see the building and was stunned to find its front facade covered with netting and scaffolding.  It upset my memory of the building’s iconic photographs, taken from across the street, which show the heroic unbroken bank of windows there.

It’s comforting that the Turbine Factory sits on a lively street, Turmstrasse, in an unassuming and up-and-coming part of the city, Moabit.  And it’s comforting that the Turbine Factory is still a turbine factory.  The day I visited was a warm one and rows of windows were thrown open, through which I heard the spinning and clanking of machines.  The building still feels bold, and resembles no other building I can think of, traditional or contemporary.  The exposed steel columns at the side are remarkable.  And so is the depth of the building; it stretches back for two blocks.  The looming front facade, although it’s just a little bit higher than adjacent apartment blocks, has a stony, classical repose.  Unlike a lot of iconic buildings, this one exceeds its presence in famous photographs.