CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE IN GERMANY 1970-1996 BY GERD DE BRUYN

This book describes 50 buildings constructed in Germany during the past 25 years.  Like literature, Music and theatre, Architecture has also gained much enthusiasm among people to resort and cherish historic buildings.  The work of foreign Architects has contributed a great deal towards new Architecture in Germany.  Internationally celebrated Architects such as Alva Aalto in fifties and Richard Meier in the eighties dedicated their works to the people of Germany. Hans Scharoun represented the idea of ‘Organic building’ without Scharoun creations, the Germans Architectural landscape would be considerably poorer.  A new generation of Architects born after 1920, gradually started to dominate the profession. Guideline for GDR Architecture through the ‘Reconstruction Law’ and the ’16 principles of urban development’, laid foundation for many Architectural- splendours in Germany.

Gunter Behnisch’s building the site for XX Olympics games and New German Parliament is step towards the Architectural progress. Hans- Bussovon Busse’s work of Munich II Airport brought an international recognition.  The Architects decided to construct a ‘White Airport’ in order to avoid destroying light’s modulatory richness with shrinking colours. Zaha. M. Hadid is   one among the few women architects who have achieved prominence on the international Architectural scene. She is from London school of Architecture and she built Fire brigade building.  Toyo Ito from Tokyo built a Day nursery amid a typical seventies housing development.  Ito‘s   Kinder-garden constitutes a ‘happy island’ despite inhospitable surroundings.

Gustav Peichl from Vienna made a Federal German Art and Exhibition hall and 16 Laendera’s ‘Pillars of German Culture.’ The three light towers on the roof represent the trinity of visual arts & architecture, painting and sculpture.  Hans Scharoun’s Prussian state library is a completely automated communication system With 64 reception points so as to allow borrowing books in as many places as possible- A people friendly effort. Otto Steidle & Uwe Kiessler’s press centre is built with an overall intention to establish architecture of simple means. ’These same architects worked on a west university, where art and science come close in the demand for creativity. The   Architects sought that closeness in ‘Science city ulm’ which wants to be a model of future oriented research.

‘’ To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.’-Anatole France.

Snippets:
*Hans Scharoun, born at Bremen in 1893.
*Social Utopias- large scale socialist residential units.’ Which was launched as ‘the core of the welfare programme’- the housing construction at the start of the seventies.
*Alvar Aalto is from Helsinki, Finland. The city of Essen had to wait a long time for its exceptional theatre. Aalto theatre. The planning process extended over thirty years. 1959-1988.
*Tadao Ando from Japan’s Osaka’s conference and meeting centre’ – It proved to be a building of disciplined tranquillity with an over view into an old cherry orchard.
*Fritz Aver, Carlo Weber- Munich/ Germany. ‘District Administrative Centre’, Starnberg .This is influenced by Traditional Japanese Architecture.
*Carlfried Mutschler, Joachim Langer, built a multipurpose hall. This is called ‘Miracle of Mannheim’ as it is a building involving nothing but a roof.
*Hans Hollein from Vienna wanted to create a living museum, inviting visitors to spend time there by a way of a diversity of spatial experiences.

*Joseph Paul Kleihues of Berlin designed Henniger Museum and municipal Gallery. Josef is among the astonishingly few architects for whom practice and theoretical reflection are inseparably linked