Eduardo Chillida's sculpture at the Office of the Federal Chancellor in Berlin. Chancellor's Office. Art in architecture in Germany has a long history behind it. The public sector has played a key role in the commissioning of artworks since 1950, and art in architecture can tell us a great deal about the changing identity of the state. On January 25th 1950, the German Bundestag adopted a decision to allocate one percent of the contract volume of all construction projects (...) for spending on public artworks“. In doing so, members of the West German parliament laid the basis for one of the world’s foremost art-in-architecture collections. As a result of this move, more than 1000 works of art have since been commissioned on behalf of the state. Over this 62-year period art in architecture has developed not only in government and parliament buildings, but also in research institutes, offices, military bases and motorway service stations. It is additionally to be found in German institutions abroad, such as embassies, consulates and Goethe Institutes that feature artworks in a variety of styles and genres. Besides receiving support from the government, art in architecture is also promoted by the individual federal states as well as local authorities, towns and municipalities. Furthermore, there is a strong corporate commitment to art within architecture.