This detailed examination of renowned architect I.M. Pei's spectacular new wing of the German Historical Museum in Berlin is published to coincide with the unveiling of the extension in 2003. The stunning glass building, with its triangular footprint and seemingly weightless curved staircase, offers a striking departure from the museum's older structures, and plays an important role in Berlin's architectural and cultural renaissance. Pei, in effect illuminating history with his design, provides an optimistic footnote to this important European institution, and a simple and elegant annex to the museum's more ponderous main buildings. Essays from architectural scholars comment on Pei's design, provide a history of the Arsenal building and site, and place the Show House in context with the architect's other important museum structures, including those built for the National Art Gallery in Washington DC, and the legendary Glass Pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre.
