The construction of the Museum of the 20th Century is planned on an open space between the Philharmonie, the New National Gallery and the Matthäuskirche in Berlin's Tiergarten district.

Ben Dieckmann's design sees the new museum as a direct component of the adjacent city life. He follows the modern idea of understanding museums no longer as temples, but as an integral part of urban life. The forecourt, which inclines towards the museum, becomes a public place for culture and exchange.

Appropriateness in the context of the surrounding buildings means that much of the museum should be underground. Since there will be a connection to the Neue Nationalgalerie, it will be possible to prove half the gross floor area of the museum underground with an exhibition floor and a technical floor.

The design provides the museum with clear orientation, logical room sequences, generosity in the movement areas and maximum flexibility and playability in the exhibition.

The open, spacious entrance merges into a vertical airspace connecting the exhibition floors. All exhibition spaces are lined up along the courtyard running through the building with the generous staircases and air spaces and side and skylights. The exhibition rooms are constructed in units of 800m² of exhibition space and with a free span of over 20m without columns and are therefore absolutely flexible.