As the entire topmost level of the Berlin TV tower rotates slowly in horizontal direction, guests at the restaurant situated on this level can enjoy their meals with a 360°aerial view of Berlin. Since opening, the restaurant has been making one revolution every hour, but after reunification and refurbishment, the speed was increased to one revolution in 30 minutes. It is said that this decision was forced by the pressure of business efficiency as an effect of the introduction of capitalist economy.
For this work, citizens and tourists at the windows were filmed from inside the restaurant for 30 minutes - just as long as it takes to make one revolution. By playing the footage back at half speed and thereby stretching the running time to one hour, the original revolution speed of the GDR era has been restored. The slowed-down movements of people in the video highlight the increased speed of society itself in the eastern part of Germany today, and thus evokes somewhat nostalgic feelings toward the former GDR.
Berlin TV Tower
TV tower on Berlin's Alexanderplatz. The current height is 368 meters.
Since its completion in 1969 for the 20th anniversary of the founding of the former GDR, the tower has been broadcasting TV programs to households across Berlin, and even after reunification, it has remained a popular and familiar Berlin landmark up to this day. After the completion of this work, the rotation speed of the restaurant level was further increased to the current speed of one revolution every 20 minutes.
