The distinctive features of German architecture at the beginning of the 21st century. they must be traced in continuity with those developed after World War II and can be introduced by recalling two areas of research: one more strictly theoretical within the discipline and one centered on technology. In both cases, Germany develops specificities that outline a well-identified and recognizable path.
The debate on the project in the city presents on the one hand the now global tendency towards internationalism without the possibility of articulating and distinguishing the works into currents, or movements, comparable to those that have marked the even more recent past; on the other, that of the development of an architecture that can be defined in the tradition of the modern, which combines interventions that follow the logic of critical reconstruction, as well as logic aimed at compensating parts of the built heritage of the past and therefore oriented towards a recovery of identity. To this disciplinary confrontation we must add that on the phenomenon of suburbanization, with characteristics common to the European anthropized territory, and of the deindustrialisation and consequent enhancement of the liberated areas and artifacts.
The aspect linked to technology (a character commonly recognized as a distinctive feature of part of German architecture) is aimed at the realization of high quality projects appreciated internationally. It is to the debate on the environment that we owe the development of the sector of alternative technologies, also encouraged by significant investments; in fact, the interest in ecology has been transformed, before other countries, into project research aimed at developing and applying sustainability strategies at various scales (an example is the Vauban district in Friborg).
The architectural panorama in Germany can therefore be outlined by recalling architects and works that give shape with their contribution to the aspects just mentioned. This is how well-known figures such as Christoph Mäckler (Zoofenster, Berlin, 2012), Hans Kollhoff (Dominium, Cologne, 2009), Hilmer & Sattler und Albrecht, Kleihues + Kleihues, expressions of traditional architecture also referable to the impact of Oswald Mathias Ungers; the significant contributions of Max Dudler (Conversion and extension Hambacher Schloss, Hambacher, 2014), Ortner & Ortner (NRW State Archive, Duisburg, 2013), Diener & Diener (Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, 2010) and David Chipperfield Architects should also be recognized (Neues Museum, Berlin, 2009) albeit not German. A broad and multifaceted scope emerges, in which the contribution of Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei (Ravensburg Art Museum, 2013) is also significant. Furthermore, in harmony with these positions, distinguished by an interest in materiality and simplicity, the younger Wandel Hoefer Lorch + Hirsch (Hinzert Documentation Center, 2005), Kuehn Malvezzi (Joseph Pschorr Haus, Munich, 2013) have established themselves among others. and Bruno Fioretti Marquez whose proposal for the Masters’ Houses in Dessau (2014) is recalled. This latest project is significant since it refers to that part of the ongoing architectural debate about critical reconstruction and the consequent tendency towards widespread internationalism, which has had particular significance starting from the Internationale Bauausstellung in Berlin (IBA 1984-87, a period in which the singular reality of the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein also started). in harmony with these positions, distinguished by an interest in materiality and simplicity, the younger ones Wandel Hoefer Lorch + Hirsch (Hinzert Documentation Center, 2005), Kuehn Malvezzi (Joseph Pschorr Haus, Munich, 2013) and Bruno Fioretti Marquez whose proposal for the Masters’ Houses in Dessau (2014) is recalled. This latest project is significant since it refers to that part of the ongoing architectural debate about critical reconstruction and the consequent tendency towards widespread internationalism, which has had particular significance starting from the Internationale Bauausstellung in Berlin (IBA 1984-87, a period in which the singular reality of the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein also started). in harmony with these positions, distinguished by an interest in materiality and simplicity, the younger ones Wandel Hoefer Lorch + Hirsch (Hinzert Documentation Center, 2005), Kuehn Malvezzi (Joseph Pschorr Haus, Munich, 2013) and Bruno Fioretti Marquez whose proposal for the Masters’ Houses in Dessau (2014) is recalled. This latest project is significant since it refers to that part of the ongoing architectural debate about critical reconstruction and the consequent tendency towards widespread internationalism, which has had particular significance starting from the Internationale Bauausstellung in Berlin (IBA 1984-87, a period in which the singular reality of the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein also started). among others, the youngest Wandel Hoefer Lorch + Hirsch (Hinzert Documentation Center, 2005), Kuehn Malvezzi (Joseph Pschorr Haus, Munich, 2013) and Bruno Fioretti Marquez, whose proposal for the Masters’ Houses in Dessau is mentioned. (2014). This latest project is significant since it refers to that part of the ongoing architectural debate about critical reconstruction and the consequent tendency towards widespread internationalism, which has had particular significance starting from the Internationale Bauausstellung in Berlin (IBA 1984-87, a period in which the singular reality of the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein also started). among others, the youngest Wandel Hoefer Lorch + Hirsch (Hinzert Documentation Center, 2005), Kuehn Malvezzi (Joseph Pschorr Haus, Munich, 2013) and Bruno Fioretti Marquez, whose proposal for the Masters’ Houses in Dessau is mentioned. (2014). This latest project is significant since it refers to that part of the ongoing architectural debate about critical reconstruction and the consequent tendency towards widespread internationalism, which has had particular significance starting from the Internationale Bauausstellung in Berlin (IBA 1984-87, a period in which the singular reality of the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein also started). 2013) and Bruno Fioretti Marquez of whom we refer to the proposal for the Masters’ Houses in Dessau (2014). This latest project is significant since it refers to that part of the ongoing architectural debate about critical reconstruction and the consequent tendency towards widespread internationalism, which has had particular significance starting from the Internationale Bauausstellung in Berlin (IBA 1984-87, a period in which the singular reality of the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein also started). 2013) and Bruno Fioretti Marquez of whom we refer to the proposal for the Masters’ Houses in Dessau (2014). This latest project is significant since it refers to that part of the ongoing architectural debate about critical reconstruction and the consequent tendency towards widespread internationalism, which has had particular relevance starting from the Internationale Bauausstellung in Berlin (IBA 1984-87, a period in which the singular reality of the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein also started).
Skyscraper Zoofenster
Germany is currently one of the nations with the greatest investment capacity despite the crisis that characterizes this moment; however, this phenomenon does not make a proportionately significant contribution, also in terms of innovation, to architecture. In fact, like other European realities, there is a heterogeneous production with many variations and a propensity for interdisciplinarity. Furthermore, and precisely in this context, the interest that still revolves around the theme of Rekonstruktivismus should be recalled and is exemplified in the proposal by Peter Kulka of the Stadtschloss of Potsdam (2013), but which also involves the historic centers of other cities (Dresden, Frankfurt, Berlin).
In order to define a general framework, once the post-war reconstruction period has ended and the problems of urban growth have emerged, the central role that transformation interventions have assumed in recent decades, aimed in particular at the enhancement, densification and attention to environmental sustainability (also in de-industrialized areas); An emblematic case, in terms of size and strategies implemented, is HafenCity in Hamburg, where international and local planning are present together, while a significant precedent, more complex and on a territorial scale, is that of the Ruhr area. Sustainability and technology (topics mentioned and already central before the Expo 2000 in Hanover, the theme of which was Man, nature, technology) in Germany constitute that precise orientation where Behnisch Archi tekten (Ozeaneum, Stralsund, 2008), Sauerbruch Hutton (Oval Office, Cologne, 2010), Ingenhoven Architects (Oeconomicum Universität, Düsseldorf, 2010), Barkow Leibinger (Campus Restaurant, Ditzingen, 2008), Thomas Herzog + Partner (Training Center for the Bavarian mountain res cue service, Bad Tölz, 2008). The projects of the Kolumba Museum by the Swiss Peter Zumthor (Cologne, 2007) and the BMW Welt of the Austrians Coop Himmelb (l) au (Munich, 2007) are also significant in this sector.
Joseph Pschorr Haus
To outline a scenario of the figures currently operating in the German area, we refer, among others, to both Staab Architekten (Extension of Nya Nordiska, Dannenberg, 2010), Augustin und Frank Architekten (Primary School, Westerbeck, 2011), Schneider + Schumacher (Städel Museum Extension, Frankfurt, 2012), J. MAYER H. und Partner Architekten, and the studies with important findings also, and in some cases above all, outside of Germany as gmp Architekten Gerkan, Marg und Partner, KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten, AS&P Albert Speer & Partner, RKW Rhode Kellermann Wawrowsky Architektur + Städtebau, HPP Architekten, Auer + Weber, Werner Sobek.
