#birkhauser

[germanpostwarmodern]

For over four decades Helmut von Werz (1912-90) shaped and critically accompanied the architectural goings-on in Munich: with the founding of his architectural firm in 1946 Werz jumped into the maelstrom of postwar reconstruction, a heavily pressing task in the widely destroyed city, that called for the quick restoration of infrastructure, schools, hospitals and other public buildings. At the same time he also engaged in the discussion surrounding the reconstruction or radical demolition of historic buildings: in this context von Werz assumed the role of mediator who liaised between radical modernists and traditionalists. In this capacity he also was supported by Johann Christoph Ottow who had joined the office in 1952.

From the 1952 onwards the partners consecutively realized a number of exemplary schools, hospitals, protestant churches and office buildings that gained them nation-wide recognition. In view of the scope of projects the partnership in 1971 was extended to Erhard Bachmann and Michel Marx who then got involved in one of the firm’s landmark buildings: the Archäologische Staatssammlung in Munich, completed in 1975, and easily identifiable by its corten steel facade. Other major but occasionally criticized projects include the Bavarian Broadcasting building with its characteristic high-rise, the Parkstadt Bogenhausen and Hasenbergl housing developments as well as the „Ramses“ housing tower.

Against the background of his significant contribution to the architectural appearance of Munich the present monograph was long overdue: published by Birkhäuser in 2014 and edited by Cordula Rau & Georg von Werz it collects a large part of the architectural firm’s built work. Organized along typologies the book gathers a total of 25 realized projects, largely presented in historic photos, plans and current photographs by Florian Holzherr. Since almost every project is comprehensively documented the reader is able to discover one of the firm’s primary virtues, namely the attention to detail. The latter also holds true for the book which provides a concise and beautifully illustrated overview of a pivotal Munich firm’s architectural output. Warmly recommended!

[casaung]

Atmospheres by Peter Zumthor 

It is no secret how much I love bookstores. Whenever I visit, I tend to gravitate towards the architecture section. However, lately it has become rather boring. The books available focus mostly on reporting an architect’s body of work - the name of the project, the location, the year of completion and a paragraph or two followed by a few pictures. It is like reading through a portfolio. 

Peter Zumthor’s Atmospheres is different. It is about the feelings invoked by experiencing architecture and how one can design by taking into consideration those emotions rather than more mundane elements like a client’s budget or brief. 

I was at first intimidated by the price tag - after all, one could buy another architect’s complete works for just as much - but I now see that this book’s value will extend over the many years that it will keep me company. A reference material to keep coming back to. And unlike many others, a very beautiful one.

Image via @luisugarte

[germanpostwarmodern]

Although he built only three religious buildings Le Corbusier’s impact on postwar religious architecture has undoubtedly been significant and lasting. With the Ronchamp church he not only designed a frequently, and more or less successfully, copied building but also unfettered a new creative potential in church architecture that set an example for a more sculptural, liberated approach to the former. In their book “Sacred Concrete - The Churches of Le Corbusier”, published in its second and expanded edition in 2020 by Birkhäuser, Flora Samuel and Inge Linder-Gaillard exclusively focus on Ronchamp, La Tourette and Firminy, their genesis and the unusual selection of Le Corbusier as church architect (although he had a deep interest in religion and faith). In addition the authors also address Le Corbusier’s project for a grotto church in Sainte Baume, a fascinating design and the architect’s first encounter with the institution Roman Catholic Church. A crucial figure for Corbusier’s involvement with the Church was Marie-Alain Couturier, a progressive Dominican father with whom he got along very well and who more or less directly got him the different religious commissions. An interesting yet speculative aspect of the book is the authors’ conclusion that LC’s religiousness was directed at women, namely his wife and mother, who were central to his spirituality and whom he turned into quasi-religious figures. Whether or not one is interested in the spiritual life of Le Corbusier: the book provides a comprehensive overview of Corbusier’s religious projects and also traces their reception over the decades following their construction, a very interesting aspect that underscores their continuing relevance.

[germanpostwarmodern]

At the 1997 documenta X Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck was accorded the honor of displaying his work in the apsis of the Kassel Fridericianum, a late acknowledgment of his practical and theoretical contribution to postwar architecture in the Netherlands and well beyond. In 1999, the year of the architect’s death, Vincent Ligtelijn edited and published the final Van Eyck monograph with Birkhäuser, a project they had been working on for several years. The result is a very personal work catalogue that resembles Van Eyck‘s documenta exhibition and offers a complete overview of the architect‘s lifework in which projects alternate with theoretical excursions. After a number of introductory and appreciating texts by, among others, Peter Smithson and Herman Hertzberger, the volume chronologically spreads out the architect’s built and unbuilt projects, including several of Hannie van Eyck’s: starting with the Loeffler tower room conversion in Zurich famous and lesser-known projects just as well as exhibition and playground designs are comprehensively presented in texts, photos, drawings and plans. Interspersed are theoretical deliberations by Van Eyck that relate to given project and provide additional insights into his approach to architecture.

Together with Francis Strauven’s massive biography the present catalogue still is the most relevant publication on Aldo van Eyck and the backbone of any critical evaluation of his oeuvre. 

[observationsandreflections]

House for Two Artists, London, 2002-2005 - Tony Fretton Architects; Photograph by @binet.helene . Reference: Buildings and their Territories, Tony Fretton Architects; Birkhäuser, 2013 . #architecture #buildingsandtheirterritories #TonyFretton #tonyfrettonarchitects #birkhauser #catalogue #visualreference #observations_and_reflections https://www.instagram.com/p/CT8qf-GLyRJ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[germanpostwarmodern]

It’s a commonplace that modern architecture and photography are a tandem that is basically inseparable: Richard Neutra and Julius Shulman, the German Braunschweig school and Heinrich Heidersberger or Eero Saarinen and Balthazar Korab are just some examples of the close relationship between architect and photographer. Austrian architect Karl Schwanzer also keenly used the services of photographers to perfectly stage his architecture: Lucca Chmel, Sigrid Neubert, Franz Hubmann or the lesser-known Maria Wölfl all accompanied Schwanzer and his architecture until his death in 1975. With „Karl Schwanzer - Passionately Modern: An Anthology in Photographs 1947-75“, edited by Caroline Schwanzer & Mirko Pogoreutz and published just now by Birkhäuser, this aspect of Schwanzer’s career receives new attention. Against the background of Schwanzer’s deep interest in the „gestalt“ of a building the close collaboration with photographers comes as no surprise and as the anthology reveals was a focal point of the architect right from the start: already his early works, often of temporary character, not only display Schwanzer’s keen sense of presentation but were equally keenly documented photographically as the book shows in extenso. Aside from the focus on the relationship between the architect and photography the anthology also contains a number of interviews with former employees and students that add another layer to the reception of Karl Schwanzer’s legacy: both as principal in the office and as professor at TH Wien Schwanzer was a nonconformist, always thinking out of the box and giving due freedom to students and employees alike. „Karl Schwanzer - Passionately Modern“ is an overabundant and excellently designed source to the work of Karl Schwanzer and once again reinforces the not to be overestimated importance of the architect for postwar Austrian architecture. Warmly recommended!

[observationsandreflections]

House for Two Artists, London, 2002-2005 - Tony Fretton Architects; Photographs by @binet.helene . Reference: Buildings and their Territories, Tony Fretton Architects; Birkhäuser, 2013 . #architecture #buildingsandtheirterritories #TonyFretton #tonyfrettonarchitects #birkhauser #catalogue #visualreference #observations_and_reflections https://www.instagram.com/p/CT8qbu5LAuF/?utm_medium=tumblr

[observationsandreflections]

House for Two Artists, London, 2002-2005 - Tony Fretton Architects; Photograph by @binet.helene . Reference: Buildings and their Territories, Tony Fretton Architects; Birkhäuser, 2013 . #architecture #buildingsandtheirterritories #TonyFretton #tonyfrettonarchitects #birkhauser #catalogue #visualreference #observations_and_reflections https://www.instagram.com/p/CT8qVqyrMyz/?utm_medium=tumblr