DAM Prize for architecture in Germany 2010
The 23 best buildings in/from Germany
ReconstructionNeuesMuseum, Museumsinsel Berlin (photograph: Hélène Binet) / January29, 2011 –May29, 2011
Deutsches Architekturmuseum DAM,
Frankfurt/Main, third floor
EXHIBITION OPENING:
Fri., January28, 2011, 7 p.m.
MEDIA CONFERENCE:
Fri., January28, 2011, 5 p.m.
GUIDED TOURS:
Saturdays and Sundays 2 p.m.by curator
Yorck Förster
OPEN:
Tues., Thurs.-Sat. 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. / Wed. 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. / Sun. 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.; closed Mondays
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION / 2
PUBLICATION / 4
IMPRINT / 4
PREVIEW / 5
CONTACT / 5
THE 23 BEST BUILDINGS IN / FROM GERMANY
DAM GERMAN ARCHITECTURE ANNUAL 2010/11
Ever since 1980, the German Architecture Annual has taken stock of the best buildings of the year. For the fourth time, DAM is presenting all the buildings included in the Annual in an exhibition. The exhibition centers on the winner of the DAM Award for Architecture in Germany, namely the Reconstruction of the NeuesMuseum, Museumsinsel Berlin. Especially for the Annual, the British photographer Hélène Binet has produced a portrait of this outstanding building by David Chipperfield Architects (Berlin) in co-operation with Julian Harrap (London).
Current architectural trends in Germany
Have the debates on the reconstruction of lost historical buildings in Germany led to a new trend in architecture? Rough estimates suggest that a good third of the projects in the yearbook quote historical stances, in some cases with a touch of irony, in others as if this were perfectly natural: Featuring characteristics that typify ‘Gründerzeit’ (late 19th century), the podium building of the OpernTurm in Frankfurt/Main forms a new periphery. The elements in a museum ensemble on the island of Föhr quote traditional structures such as barn and manor house. The Kurpark in Bad Tölz has seen the construction of town houses that by no means startle with harsh Modernist architecture. On the other hand, as if it were a matter of course, a new wing was added to a school on LakeConstance in the shape of the old building, thereby creating a mirror image axis. Is the language of traditional architectural making a comeback?
The picture only becomes complete, however, if the fact that late Modernism is also being quoted and added to is also taken into consideration: Aluminum components from a 1960s department store create a striking motif for the “Lesezeichen” library in the Salbke district of Magdeburg. On account of its specific qualities an unspectacular 1950s housing development In Altenhagener Weg in Hamburg was very carefully renovated and extended. And in Munich the bungalows built for the 1972 Olympics and subsequently used as student residences, have been rebuilt with cutting-edge technical features in the original overall structure.
The projects thus seem less an expression of a stylistic retro trend than efforts on the part of architects to create continuity. “Continuing to build”, in the sense of architecture that is conscious of its past and the power of existing buildings, with a view to finding an adequate response for tomorrow, would appear to be the latent theme of current architecture in Germany.
Architecture in Germany
The breadth of possible architectural stances is reflected in the two administration buildings featured in the exhibition. Made of stone, the OpernTurm sets a new accent amidst the cluster of high-rise buildings in Frankfurt/Main. By way of contrast, with its ETFE façade the Unilever HQ in Hamburg’s new HafenCity district almost resembles a ship under full sail.
Two educational institutions were selected: Set in a location that is hard to surpass and affords a view of LakeConstance, the school building at Hegne Monastery was given a new wing, while the Jacob and WilhelmGrimmCenter, which was built in the center of Berlin, houses Germany’s largest reference library. From the conceptual precision of the grid in the building around the impressive central reading room, an interplay emerges between transparency and perspective.
To induce urban development through situational urbanism was the main intention behind the “Lesezeichen” library in the Salbke district of Magdeburg, which serves as a meeting point, district center, and concert venue.
An ensemble of small modern and regional elements forms the new museum on the North Frisian island of Föhr.
The VitraHaus in Weil am Rhein comprises 12 gabled houses stacked on top of, and penetrating each other. It represents a new architectural signet in the context of the exceptional architecture of the Vitra works there.
Reception buildings at historical sites were built in Dachau and Dresden. Both projects have in common an unobtrusive presence in their respective context. At Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site a visitor center was built along the access path.
The museums in DresdenCastle on the other hand needed a foyer. To this end, the Small Courtyard was covered with a slightly arched dome set at a height above the Renaissance gables.
The gallery building at Brunnenstrasse is surely the most provocative new building in Berlin to be erected in recent years. Existing references and parts of the former investor ruin were adopted as formal circumstances; the building cultivates a raw aesthetic of the changeable and unfinished.
How should we live? Examples in the exhibition of how to do so range from a house in Lower Bavaria to big-city living, from tiny duplex bungalows for students to the distinguished nobility of city mansions and a hotel which seems as matter of course as it does personal.
Two examples demonstrate how functional buildings were deliberately designed to serve as a symbol and as such far more than purely purpose-built structures. A store in Berlin was designed as a signet-like giant palette. In Mainz, a purely technical building, a floodwater pump station, was vividly designed as a heavy monolith on a water vein.
International architecture
This time the projects German architecture firms completed in other countries include an example of an all-embracing cultural export: In Seoul the “PLATOON Kunsthalle” was built from 28 containers; it is an event venue at which visitors have the best chance of finding the German delicacy “Käsespätzle” (egg noodles with cheese).
The 193 x 31 m hall referred to as “Platine”, which was conceived for the Cité du Design in Saint-Étienne in France, was designed with as wide a range of uses as possible in mind.
On a still larger scale, the CultureWaveCity, which protrudes into the QianTangRiver in the new town of Hangzhou in China, provides a multifunctional platform for events and festivals.
The flat, forested lowland of the MurRiver near Gosdorf in Austria has gained a genuine attraction in the form of a walk-in landmark, the MurTower.
PUBLICATION
/ Peter Cachola Schmal, Yorck Förster(editors)GERMAN ARCHITECTURE ANNUAL 2010/11
With a preface by the editors and two essays:
Arno Lederer – "Die Zukunft aus der Vergangenheit denken. Ein Plädoyer für die Verantwortung der Architektur gegenüber der Stadt" and Dirk Meyhöfer – "Nachhaltiger Tropfen. Gedankenspiele zu Lingang New City (Shanghai)".
Published by Prestel Verlag
German/English; soft cover, 212 pages with227 colored imagesand79 black-and-white images, size28 x 22 cm
ISBN: 978-3-7913-5063-9
Museum: € 29.95/book stores: € 39.95
IMPRINT
DAM PRIZE FOR ARCHITECTURE IN GERMANY 2010
THE 23 BEST BUILDINGS IN / FROM GERMANY
Published in the German Architecture Annual 2010/11
January 29–May29 2011
Organized by Deutsches Architekturmuseum
On behalf ofthe Department of Culture and Science, Kulturamt Stadt Frankfurt am Main
Director Peter Cachola Schmal
Exhibition curatorYorck Förster
Graphic and Exhibition DesignDeserve Raum und Medien Design, Wiesbaden / Berlin, Mario Lorenz
Panel productioninditec, Display & Messegestaltung GmbH, Bad Camberg
Poster, invititaion card and flagbannerGardeners, Frankfurt/Main
Artist (DAM Prize statue)Harald Pompl
Photographer (DAM Prize 2010 - ReconstructionNeuesMuseum)Hélène Binet, London
RegistrarWolfgang Welker
AdministrationYvonne Künstler, Inka Plechaty
Press and Public RelationsBrita Köhler
Installation of the exhibition Marina Barry, Paolo Brunino, Enrico Hirsekorn, Eike Laeuen, Joachim Müller-Rahn, Angela Tonner, Beate Voigt, Gerhard Winkler, Valerian Wolenik
Under the direction ofChristian Walter
/ Press images for announcements and reports during the exhibition period atFebruary 5 –March 27, 2011
FROM GERMANY TO ARGENTINA
April 8–July 3, 2011
RICHARD NEUTRA IN EUROPE
DEUTSCHES ARCHITEKTURMUSEUM
Press and Public Relations
Schaumainkai 43, 60596 Frankfurt/Main, Germany,
Brita Köhler, Dipl.-Ing. (FH)
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