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Ufa’s Universum Movie Palace on Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm (built 1926-28)

Erich Mendelsohn’s Universum Movie Palace, built between 1926 and 1928, is a bold example of modern architecture in the service of that most modern of entertainment forms, the cinema. Its functional design and curved exterior create sense of dynamic movement. Inside, the sweep of the balcony and the arrangement of the seating achieve a similar dynamism; the sight lines converge, as in camera, towards the screen, at which the whole audience is looking.

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Ufa’s Universum Movie Palace on Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm (built 1926-28)

© Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz/ Kunstbibliothek, SMB / Arthur Köster