COLLECTION NAME:
Visual Resources Teaching Collection
mediaCollectionId
ArtArtHiAAH~7~7
Visual Resources Teaching Collection
Collection
true
Image Record ID:
aahi0001761
image_record_id
aahi0001761
Image Record ID
false
Work Title (display):
Hysolar Institute, Stuttgart University
Image Title:
exterior view
Work Dates (display):
1987
Work Dates type:
creation
Work Creator (display):
Günter Behnisch (German, 1922-2010)
Work Creator gender:
male
work_creator_or_agent_gender
male
Work Creator gender
false
Work Creator notes (display):
German architect and teacher. He studied at the Technische Hochschule, Stuttgart, graduating in 1951. From 1952 to 1956 he was in partnership with Bruno Lambart (b 1919). He then worked independently before forming a group practice, Behnisch & Partners, in Stuttgart in 1966 with Fritz Auer (b 1933), Winfried Büxel (b 1928), Manfred Sabatke (b 1938), Erhard Tränkner (b 1929) and Karlheinz Weber (b 1934); Auer and Weber subsequently left in 1985 to set up their own office. Behnisch was the leader and figurehead of the practice, one of the best known in Germany. It was organized so that each architect had considerable autonomy, and its work thus varied in style and preoccupation, although certain common themes and intentions were evident. It tended to swing between a thorough and well-mannered, if somewhat stiff, brand of Modernism and a rather more fragmented and open-ended approach to planning; these contrasting directions reflect the influence of two competing approaches to Modernist design in Germany: one concerned with the articulation and expression of construction, the other with the organization of space in relation to use and meaning. Much of Behnisch's work was gained in competition and was principally in the public sector, including a wide range of educational buildings, sports halls and old people's homes. School buildings designed early in his career include the Hohenstaufen Gymnasium, Göppingen, and the Vogelsangschule, Stuttgart, both designed with Lambart and completed in 1959, and the highly regarded Staatliche Fachhochschule für Technik (195963), Ulm. In the 1960s the Behnisch office was at the forefront of the systematic design movement and the development of standardized component systems, producing a number of works that, within the limitations of this method, achieved an exemplary elegance, as in the Fachhochschule at Ulm. Although this method was later regarded as something of a cul-de-sac, the office retained an intense interest in the technical aspects of construction and its expression, demonstrating virtuosity with structural frame, skin and steelwork. This resulted in buildings combining a sense of lightness and gracefulness with a sophisticated layering of the façade (e.g. the schools in Lorch, see below). An interest in the specifics of programme and site was also apparent, drawing on the German organic tradition of Hugo Häring and Hans Scharoun. Typical of this kind of architecture are its geometric freedom, spatial fluidity and a hierarchical organization that reflects the social structure of the building while developing individual character in each element. In the 1970s and after, the tectonic and social aspects of architecture reached a new synthesis in the firm's work, allowing a fascinating dialogue to develop between spatial organization and the many exposed layers of construction and servicing, producing buildings rich in spatial incidents and visual continuity. Behnisch achieved international fame with the sports buildings (196772) for the Olympiapark, Munich, featuring a dramatic tent-roof structure designed in collaboration with Frei Otto (for illustration see Tension structure). Educational buildings remained an important part of the firm's practice, however, and they clearly reflect its ideas: somewhat formally planned main buildings are freely divided for classroom and activity use and linked through loosely planned circulation routes to attached assembly and other amenity spaces. At the In den Berglen Mittelpunktschule (1969), Oppelsbohm, for example, the principal building is star-shaped; at the Progymnasium (1973), Lorch, it is almost circular; and at the Hauptschule (1982), Lorch, it is triangular, with still more informal circulation spaces. All are sophisticated one- and two-storey buildings, beautifully detailed and with construction and services taking on a decorative role. Behnisch's non-educational buildings include the more romantic four-storey Genesungsheim (1976), Reutlingen, with shingled spandrels, angled bay windows and balconies covered in greenery from flower boxes. The Herbert Keller Haus (1983), Stuttgart, built for the Lutheran Church, is a mainly rectilinear five- and six-storey building designed around a covered courtyard, more freely planned at lower levels to house a variety of spaces, including lecture theatres. Other important works included a development plan for the government quarter in Bonn, prepared in conjunction with the design of an assembly hall and parliament buildings there (completed 1980). The firm was also active in urban development, planning the Königstrasse pedestrian zone (197480) and the Kleine Schlossplatz redevelopment (completed 1982), both in Stuttgart. In 1975 Behnisch became Professor of Architecture at the Technische Hochschule, Darmstadt, and he won many awards during his career, including the Grand Prix of the Bund Deutscher Architekten (1972). (Grove Art Online Accessed 2006-07-26)
Work Style Period:
Contemporary
work_styleperiod
Contemporary
Work Style Period
false
Work Style Period:
20th century
work_styleperiod
20th century
Work Style Period
false
Work Worktype:
universities
work_type
universities
Work Worktype
false
Work Worktype:
architecture (object genre)
work_type
architecture (object genre)
Work Worktype
false
Work Category (VRC classification):
architecture
work_category__ucbaahvrc_classification_
architecture
Work Category (VRC classification)
false
Work Location (Geographic) name:
Stuttgart, Germany
Image Rights (display):
© Ronald Wiedenhoeft. Licensed for educational use via Scholars Resource: Saskia, Ltd.
Work Rights (display):
© Ronald V. Wiedenhoeft
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Holding Institution:
University of Colorado at Boulder
Collection:
Art and Art History Visual Resources Collection
Collection info and contact:
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