German architecture, Brutalist architecture and architecture by women: three exhibitions at DAM

Three interesting exhibitions at DAM Deutsches Architekturmuseum in Frankfurt take a look at recent architecture in Germany and all over the world by German architects, works from a past too recent to be considered heritage buildings, and reflection on women’s role in architecture 100 years after German technical schools opened their doors to women.

DAM Preis 2018 The 25 Best Buildings in/from Germany
An exhibition of projects selected for the DAM Award for Architecture in Germany, an award that has been presented to the best architecture in Germany and all over the world by German architects every year since 2007. The contest offers a vast overview of all the buildings constructed in Germany between the end of 2015 and the spring of 2017. The candidates for the prize and the winners will be included in geographic order in a print publication, a specific guide to German architecture published annually, and on an internet site to build a big digital archive of contemporary architecture in Germany. The 25 projects on exhibit, 23 of which were built in Germany and two abroad, are examples of good architecture with no limits on size, functions or public and private clients. A number of different types of building are represented: residential, commercial, theatres and concert halls, renovation projects, co-working spaces, university campuses and sports complexes, renovations and new buildings, with a clear prevalence of residential buildings. The judges selected 4 finalists from among the 23 projects selected, and awarded a special mention to Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg by Herzog & de Meuron. The first prize went to Arge Bogevischs Buero & SHAG Schindler Hable Architekten for the wagnisART housing development in Munich. The two international architectural projects selected are the Guga S'Thebe Theater in Cape Town by Design.Develop.Build. (a programme in which a team of German and American architecture students worked in South Africa in partnership with AIT Dialog and AIT ArchitekturSalon), and the Bund SOHO complex by gmp architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partner in Shanghai, China.

SOS BRUTALISM Save the Concrete Monsters!
The term "Brutalist architecture" originated out of the French term "beton brut", referring to "bare concrete” and used to describe the architecture of the period between the '50s and the '70 in which surfaces were left free of plaster or other covering materials, drawing their expressive power from the bare concrete structures. The exhibition’s title is a cry for help for these buildings, which are frequently covered in the press, both in print and in online articles such as those in Livegreenblog by Christiane Bürklein, but are threatened with being slated for demolition. The DAM exhibition presents the first global survey of the Brutalist architecture of the '50s to the '70s, setting up a database of more than 1000 projects, broken down by geographic area, from Japan to Brazil, from the former Yugoslavia to Israel and to Great Britain, where Alison and Peter Smithson invented New Brutalism.

FRAU ARCHITEKT - Over 100 Years of Women in Architecture
The exhibition closed on March 8, International Women’s Day, but it’s still worth mentioning the exhibition DAM dedicated to the “highly relevant” theme of women’s role in architecture, accompanied by round tables and discussions, presented by Christiane Bürklein in Livegreenblog. 100 years have passed since German universities first allowed women to register for degree programmes in architecture, and women now represent more than 50% of all architecture students. But the figures are not enough, for in Germany, as in many parts of the world, the architect is still seen as being primarily a male profession. DAM begins its reflection with examination of its own programming since 1984: the German museum has offered the public 370 exhibitions, including 100 monographic exhibitions focusing on male architects and only 4 about female architects.

(Agnese Bifulco)

DAM Preis 2018 The 25 Best Buildings in/from Germany
Dates: 27.01.2018 – 06.05.2018

SOS BRUTALISM Save the Concrete Monsters!
Date: 09.11.2017 – 02.04.2018

FRAU ARCHITEKT - Over 100 Years of Women in Architecture
Dates: 30.09.2017 – 08.03.2018

Location: Deutsches Architekturmuseum Frankfurt – Germany
Images courtesy of Deutsches Architekturmuseum

http://dam-online.de

---

GALLERY