Centennial Hall
Max Berg · Wrocław, Poland · 1913
Max Berg’s Centennial Hall is a pioneering reinforced-concrete assembly building crowned by an enormous ribbed dome. The structure achieves a vast unobstructed interior through a system of radial arches and ring beams, making engineering rather than applied decoration the primary architectural expression. Built for the 1913 Centennial Exhibition, the hall demonstrated the possibilities of reinforced concrete at a scale that influenced later sports and exhibition architecture. Its monumental yet structurally rational form earned UNESCO World Heritage status and remains one of the foundational works of twentieth-century concrete architecture.