Waiting without end
A Berlin subway station is the purest construction site for seven years. Berlin's public transport company counteracts annoyance with foils on the dust protection walls.
The second part of the slogan ("...a beautiful ending") is missing, which fits wonderfully with the long-lasting construction site. (Photos: Ann-Kathrin Kübler)
The fact that construction sites in Berlin can drag on is well known internationally, at the latest since the still unfinished BER airport. The German capital is also home to a number of underground construction projects. For example, the Rathaus Steglitz subway station has been wrapped in construction site garb for four years. The completion of the renovation is scheduled for the distant year 2022.
Berlin's public transport company and its subsidiary Urbanis take up the waiting game with a wink and skillfully stage the construction site. "The waiting has", it says in large letters on a dust protection wall. Below it is the well-known BVG claim "Because we love you". Large pictures are printed on transparencies where renovated sales areas are to be built later. In between, there is graffiti - an unplanned contribution by passing passengers. Part of the space is currently allocated for an exhibition by the Max Planck Society, which shows fascinating images from the world of science.
Small posters continue to read inside the station aisles: "First our work, then your pleasure." and "The wait has a nice end." Not yet - but if the construction site is used so creatively, it's definitely better to wait.
