The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse, today reported on a meeting of those Members of the Bundestag who are also on the Board of Trustees. The meeting focused on the detailed cost projection by the architect Professor Peter Eisenman for the planned Memorial and Information Centre. In his proposal, the architect has both integrated the suggestions regarding content and concept made by the Board of Trustees, and taken into account the limit of 50 million DM set for construction costs.
Following discussions with their respective party colleagues, the Members of the Bundestag on the Board of Trustees approved the cost proposal. They will now approach the budgetary committee of the German Bundestag in order to ensure that the necessary resources are made available for the Memorial and the Information Centre.
»The plans now available to us ensure effective cost controls for this complex project – even if at this stage these plans are necessarily still preliminary,« said Bundetag President Thierse to the press. He added that this financial framework could not take account of later exhibition and furnishing costs for the Information Centre or of running costs. »We have instructed the architect to economise wherever possible,« said Thierse. »Given the exceptional artistic and structural quality of the project, this ceiling of 50 million is appropriate and sensible, and at the same time demands an economical approach from all participants.«
